I don't want to hurt you
by vampire-charmer-101
Summary: What would you do if you caused the one person you loved more than your life, nothing but pain? After being the cause of Sasuke's tragic accident, Naruko decides she should leave Sasuke alone for good. In doing this she not only endangers her life but also that of those around her.
1. Chapter 1

Hello users of fan fiction, as a new author to this site I just want to say thank you for even clicking on this story. I know i'm not a very good writer but with time I hope to get better, along with the respectful comments you may give me. I want to dedicate this story to one of my friends because without her pushing me I would probably just have writeen this and then deleted it along with the other stories I have written.

**Rating: T** ( I don't know where to put this so i'll start here xD)

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Naruto or anything related to Naruto. If i did then Sasuke would hurry his but back home and all in the world would be right.

**Chapter 1: The Meeting**

Autumn... The season that makes life feel magical as the world transforms from the magnificent emeralds of spring and summer to the stunning crimsons and gold of fall. Many love this season for it's whimsical beauty but others seem to dread the coming of fall each year. I, Naruko Namikaze am one of those people.

* * *

" Announcing king and queen, Minato and Kushina Namikaze along with their daughter princess Naruko"

Clapping could be heard all around us, sucking us in like a black hole. I kept my head held high as I walked with my parents to the ballroom but I would never take my eyes off the floor. We joined all of the other nobles of our nation in the ballroom and waited with anticipation (more like dread) for the royal family to make their appearance.

"Now announcing the royal family emperor and empress, Fugaku and Mikoto and crown princes Itachi and Sasuke. "

I quickly joined everyone else in bowing and curtsying to avoid looking at the royals. I stood up and lowered my gaze and barely registered the voice of emperor Fugaku announce the autumn celebration to begin. I noticed my father start walking away and noticed all of the heads of the families walk away with the emperor. A quick tap on my shoulder brought me out of my musings. I quickly turned around and saw a familiar face.

"Kurama!"

"May I have this dance"?

"Of course"

We walked into the dance floor and slowly melted into the crowd of dancing people. The song was a nice instrumental slow song perfect for the autumn season.

"You have to stop this," said kurama

"I don't know what you mean" I feigned

"It's not your fault you should let it go," he said with a sway

" I don't want to talk about it," I said looking away as I twirled

" Eventually you have to, don't hurt yourself you know it makes me worry" a spin, a sway

" I'm sorry" a twirl

Coming full circle the song switched into a much more soothing song, almost like a lullaby.

"May I cut in?" said a deep voice

I froze in kurama's arms recognizing the voice. I didn't have to turn to know that it was crowned prince, sasuke uchiha.

"Of course my lord" said kurama with a bow before gently releasing his hold on my waist.

I stayed tensed with my arms to my side until gentle hands placed me into a warm embrace.

"Why is it that you ignore me?" he asked

"That's nonsense, I'm doing no such thing," I say with a surprisingly straight voice while looking at the crowd of dancers over his shoulder.

I cringe at the gentle touch of his hand on my chin lifting my face towards him. I reluctantly lift my gaze to meet his for the first time in years. What I see takes my breath away momentarily. His once onyx eyes were now as dark as ink with a crimson spark that drew you in like a sirens call. His pale face was a smooth as ever and now held a strong jaw.

" I've seen you around for a while now and every time you glance my way you run away. How is that not avoiding me?" he said swaying to the lulling melody

"It's best if you stay away from me" I said coming to a stop.

"Hn and why is that" he said

"Just don't, trust me," I said as I took a last glance at his haunted face before quickly picking the skirts of my dress and gliding out of the ballroom.

'I'm sorry sasuke but it's for the best'

* * *

**That's it for the first chapter, I know it isn't much but if you would like to continue reading this, drop me a comment or review. I have a second chapter to it but don't know whether I should continue it or leave it as it is.**


	2. Chapter 2

Dear readers I can't explain how blown away I am to have received your reviews. I was so happy to read what you had to say about my story and even more pleased to know that you liked it. I would like to thank personally

Layellee

Peyton Namikaze

Gaaralover2247

along with Shadow Phoenix 16 for reviewing and following my story and helping motivate me and give me the confidence to continue this story.

**Rating: T** ( to be safe xD)

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Naruto or anything related to Naruto. If so Sasuke would have never ran off with the snake peso and Itachi would still be alive. The only thing I do own or at least hope I own is Heliox(pronounced helio).

'text' means thinking (proabably forgot to mention that)

Oh one more thing, Sasuke is 18 and Naruko is 17 currently but in this chapter she remembers things from when she was 15.

Now ONWARD TO THE STORY

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Accident**

Morning came with a crisp autumn breeze that ruffled everything it came into contact with giving it a pleasant chill. The weather seemed to not bother many people as they scurried here and there. Most doing errands around the Castle while chatting with the princess as she roamed the hallways.

"Good morning princess, you look lovely today," said a older maid bowing in respect

"Good morning Aria and thank you" she said smiling

"Are you off to the gardens again?" she asked

"No not today I'm off to the stables to see Heliox" she said

" You can't go out like that, master Kurama would surely throw a fit," she said shaking her head. Setting the basket she was holding down she picked up a long black velvet cloak with gold clasps and handed it to Naruko.

"Thank you Aria, I'll see you later" she said clasping the cloak on before walking away

* * *

As I walked into the stable area I couldn't help but feel at ease. The welcoming neigh of the horses as I passed them brought a smile to my face. I looked around to find the stables empty and made my way to the second to last stable. Inside was one of the things I held most dear to me sleeping.

"Heliox" I whispered softly

As quick as lightning the russet horse stood to attention before trotting to the entrance of the stable.

"Hey there, ready for your walk?" I spoke as I ran my hand through his russet orange tinted mane.

With a happy neigh as a response I took his reigns from the door and opened it. Once the reigns were attached I led him out of the stables and into the gardens. I sat down under a tree and pulled my cloak closer to me as I watched Heliox roam the gardens with heavy eyes. Slowly they felt heavier and heavier until they could no longer stay open.

* * *

Red.

Fire.

Blood

"Help me somebody help me" I cried

I looked around the room scared and confused. Everything was on fire and there was no way out. There were no windows and the only door was the source of the flames. I cowered in the corner farthest from the flames.

"Suke! Suke!" I screamed

I watched in fear as the flames kissed the walls and furniture leaving a scorching path in its wake. A sense of dread steadily built up in my heart. It along with the smoke made is hard to breathe.

"Naru!"

I snapped my head towards the door hearing the familiar voice.

"Suke! Help me suke, please," I sobbed in desperation

Suddenly the door burst open sending sparks and chips of wood towards me. I covered my face from it before I felt arms slowly wrap around me.

"Thank god your all right," said sasuke

I looked up at him and saw him bathed in crimson. His appearance looking like that of the angel of death more than the friend I knew. Focusing on the streak of crimson that seemed to be continuously fresh, I noticed he was hurt.

"Suke your hurt" I exclaimed throwing my arms around him

"Shhh it's fine naru, I'm ok" he said

I looked at his smoldering dark eyes before seeing a look of alarm flash on them. It all happened to fast for me to comprehend but the next thing I knew was that I was on the floor with sasuke laying in front of me under some roof paneling. He lay there motionless, arm-twisted in a sick angle. The flames chose that moment to work their way towards Sasuke's body. I could feel my chest restrict with a scream and my eyes filling with tears.

"SUKE!" I screamed

* * *

I jolted up and breathed hard as I tried to calm my racing heart.

'Not that dream again'

After calming down the first thing I noticed was that I was oddly uncomfortable. It took me a few minutes to realize that I was also warmer than I originally was. I looked around slowly and saw black. Panicking I reached for my face only to realize that my arms were fastened with rope. I struggled as much as I could before stilling at the sound of foot falls approaching. Soon a door could be heard opening briefly before shutting.

"I know your awake Naruko," said a voice

I froze for a second as soon as I registered that voice.

"Nagato" I bit out

"I'm glad you remember me," he said

"What do you want with me?" I asked as calmly as I could

Silence and footsteps are what greeted me before my blindfold was snatched of my face, allowing me a view of the dim room.

"What I want is simple," he said

"I want you to be my bride and future empress."

I looked up at him from my position and glared at him.

" Why me and not any other noble out there" I hissed

"Because you my darling" he purred

" Are not only beautiful, but also have a relationship with the Uchihas which we all know would do anything to keep you alive" he finished as his hands ghosted underneath my chin.

I pulled back from his touch as I felt my skin crawl with disgust.

" You're sick, I would never be your wife" I spit out

"That's too bad because you have no say in this and neither will your parents or the Uchihas after my men are trough with them" he said smirking

The dim light of the room made Nagato's features even more twisted. His purple eyes shone with wicked glee as he looked down on me before heading towards the door.

" Don't you dare lay a hand on them you coward" I yelled straining against my binds.

Nagato continued to walk out of the room ignoring my presence as he reached for the door.

" I swear I'll kill you myself if you lay a hand on them" I yelled while struggling

" You can threaten me all you want but that's not going to get you anywhere" he cackled.

Soon the door was shut leaving me alone in my dim prison cell.

' Someone help me please'

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I tried making it a bit longer than the first but it seems i'm not doing such a good job there xD. Review and tell me what you think about it, your responses always motivate me and make my day.**


	3. Chapter 3

****Hello dear readers, it's been a while since my last update and i'm sorry about that. Life has gotten to me and school makes it a bit difficult to update quickly. I have decided to try to update every Friday but I may sometimes be a little late -_-. That said I would like to say that you guys are amazing and I smile like a crazy person every time I get a review. You make my day and I want to thank you. Speaking of thanking, you should probably thank my friend, who we shall call little cherry for now, who has pressured me to update soon. Now that i'm all done let's get to the story.

**Rating: T**

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Naruto or anything related to Naruto. If so Sasuke would have never ran off with the snake pedo and Itachi would still be alive.

'text' means thinking

* * *

**Chapter 3: Revelations**

A swirl of colors and images flash before my eyes like a current of flowing water. Along with that current came a sucking sensation that felt like one was floating. Everything seemed surreal, nothing like I have ever experienced before.

'Am I dreaming?'

"…Ke"

Snapping my head to attention I looked around me for what I think was the voice of a young girl. I looked around me but found no one this landscape. I reached out and touched one of the spheres of color and suddenly it burst. Everything around me disappeared and left me in complete darkness. Suddenly the sucking filling got stronger and I could no longer control my self and was swept into the darkness.

* * *

"Su..ke"

"Suke!"

I opened my eyes quickly only to shut them just as quick. After taking a few seconds to calm my racing heart that for some reason was pumping harder than it has before and slowly opened my eyes. I recognized the place I was in immediately. The blooming Sakura trees, the rose archways, the maze of colorful flowers, we were in the palace gardens.

"Suke you fell asleep" said a voice from beside me

I turned towards the sound of the voice and saw someone I've never seen before. A young girl around the age of ten was currently staring back at me with a pout. Her hair was tied in two low pigtails, which she was twirling anxiously.

'Who is she?'

" I'm sorry… but you just talk to much sometimes" I said

' What am I saying?'

Giving a little huff, the little blonde crossed her arms and dropped her azure gaze to the floor.

"Well sorry I talk to much for the ice prince" she said

'Why does she seem familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time'

"Hn… you know I don't mean it" I said

Silence reigned for a moment until she was satisfied with what she was thinking about. Reaching out she enter laced her small hand with my slightly bigger hand.

"Suke, you'll be my friend forever won't you" she said staring at our intertwined hands.

" Of course" I said

'Liar'

Looking up from our hands a big grin spread on her face before I suddenly found my self with an armful of the blonde as she hugged me. I looked up at the sky and noticed it begin to get dark rapidly. Everything began being swallowed in the abnormal darkness. I strengthened my hold on little blonde unconsciously before I heard her whisper something with an anguished voice.

"…Help me please"

* * *

A gasp could be heard echoing through the room of Sasuke Uchiha. The young noble looked around in the darkness of his bedchamber with sharp hawk like eyes. Finding nothing he relaxed slowly.

"What was that?" he whispered running his hand through his hair

Shaking his head and getting ready to go back to bed he slowly lay down and closed his eyes. Just as he was about to sink into the embrace of sleep a sharp knock was heard on his door.

Groaning slightly, he got up and threw on his robe before opening the door

"What" he growled

"Prince Sasuke, the emperor and empress require your presence in the library," said the maid bowing before leaving

Slamming the door close, the young noble made his way towards his wardrobe to find something suitable to wear before going to meet with his parents.

* * *

As he approached the library the first thing he noticed was that there were others in there with his family.

'Hn couldn't these people wait until the morning for what ever they need'

He opened the door and found his mother and father there with another family he recognized as the Namikaze family, at his entrance his father stopped speaking and beckoned him to his side.

" You called for me father," he said as he took his seat

"Yes, Sasuke these are our good friends the Minato and Kushina Namikaze" gestured Fugaku

" It's nice to make your acquaintance prince Sasuke" said the blonde known as Minato, with a nod of the head

" Same here" he said returning the nod

" I'm sorry to have bothered you this late young prince," said a red headed woman who he assumed to be Kushina in a shaky voice.

"It's fine, but why am I here and not Itachi?" he asked

" This doesn't have to do with Itachi," said Fugaku

" You see Sasuke, our daughter Naruko has been k-kidnapped earlier." Sobbed the red-head

" How does this pertain to me?" he asked staring at his father and mother

" Well it's about time we tell you about something that we should have done a long time ago" said Mikoto

"When you were in a terrible accident when you were fifteen" she said

" You were trying to help rescue Naruko when you suffered some injuries."

Noticing that his wife's distress Fugaku stepped in to pick up her explanation.

" You suffered some mild burns on your arms and legs and a deep puncture wound on your chest. You broke you arm and suffered a dangerous blow to the head." Said Fugaku

" The doctor told us that due to the blow you suffered you would might lose your memories and not be the same."

The library soon filled with silence that was occasionally broken by the small sniffle from the empress or Mrs. Namikaze. Sasuke sat there un-moving processing everything he was told.

'Were those my memories back then and not a dream?'

"….I still don't see why does my presence relate to the kidnapping of Naruko," he asked

" Back when you were children you and Naruko were inseparable, you would always know where the other was and somehow formed a connection." answered Minato

"The last time she was kidnapped you were able to find out where she was and we were hopping you could do it again" pleaded Kushina

"…It won't work" said Sasuke

"I don't know who this Naruko is or of any connection I might have had with her in the past. If you excuse me I'm going to retire to my room," he said getting up from his seat and heading to the door

At the response from Sasuke, Kushina broke down in sobs as she desperately clutched to her husband and spoke about never finding her little girl. Fugaku and Mikoto looked at their friends with a sad gaze as Minato tried to stay strong for his wife's sake. Sasuke stopped at the door frame for a while, and with out looking back he spoke something that gave the occupants of the room some hope before closing the door.

"…I'll try to remember her."

* * *

**Tada ! :D**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it kind of felt like a filler to me -_-. I look forward to your wonderful words and shall be on my way to start typing the next chapter to try to get ahead of my school schedule. **


	4. Chapter 4

Once again it's friday and since it is christmas season I come bearing the gift of a new chapter. I hope you guys like it and I will once more thank you for all of the support you have given me. I love seeing how much you enjoy my story and I love it when I get new followers, it makes me so happy I smile like an idiot xD. Soon more exciting things will happen in this story (well I hope xD) and this story was suppose to be a short one but I think it will now have ten chapters so let's look forward to that journey :).

**Rating: T**

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Naruto or anything related to Naruto. If so Sasuke would have never ran off with the snake pedo and Itachi would still be alive. I think I own Mizuki since I just came up with her on the spot xD. I would also like to point out that I don't own the song it belongs to Makino Yui and yes it's the english translation of the song You are my love.

'text' means thinking

* * *

**Chapter 4: Trouble begins**

The suns soft rays broke through the piercing darkness of the small room through an old boarded up window. The golden streaks danced across the floor until they came across the sole occupant in the room. They danced and reflected of the golden hair to their hearts content. Moment's later eyes opened wearily revealing dull blue eyes that once were crystal blue. Slowly Naruko began to sit up straight from the uncomfortable sleeping positions she was in. She looked around the bare room with dead eyes before resting her gaze on the dirty floor. She sat there staring at nothing for a while until the turning of the door nob caused her to snap her head upwards. Hiding her earlier depression she mustered a piercing glare towards the door. Finally after some fiddling the door opened to reveal a young woman around her age with long white hair. She took one look at Naruko before looking at the floor and walking in.

" I brought you some food," she said timidly as she placed a tray she was holding on a nearby table

"…"

" I hope you like it" she said looking up from the floor

Dropping her glare Naruko stared blankly at the woman

" I'm not hungry," she said

" …Please try to eat something," begged the woman

" … What's your name?" asked Naruko

"Mizuki" answered the girl

" Why are you here" she asked

" I was assigned to take care of you by Nagato-sama" said Mizuki

" I just want to be alone," said Naruko

" …I understand," she said before bowing and leaving the room

Naruko stared at the door and watched as Mizuki closed the door to her prison. She continued to stare at the door for a few seconds until she turned and faced the boarded up window. She longed to feel the sun on her skin and the wind through her hair and most of all being free. Slowly she began to lose herself in her thoughts as words began to spill from her lips.

"**_Kiss me sweet_**

**_I'm sleeping in silence_**

**_All alone_**

**_In ice and snow_**"

' I'm sorry, so sorry'

"** _In my dream_**

**_I'm calling your name_**

**_You are my love_**"

' Why can't I keep you out of trouble no matter how hard I try'

"**_In your eyes_**

**_I search for my memory_**

**_Lost in vain_**"

' I love you so much yet all I do is find ways to hurt you'

"**_So far in the scenery_**

**_Hold me tight,_**

**_And swear again and again_**

**_We'll never be apart_**"

' Yet here I am being selfish and hoping you'll come and rescue me, I hope you can forgive me'

"What a touching song" cut in Nagato's voice

Setting a glare back on her face, Naruko looked at Nagato standing in

front of the door with his arms crossed and a smug smirk on his face.

"What do you want?" she hissed out

" I couldn't help but overhear your touching song, to your beloved Sasuke," he said leaning against the door.

" Shut up, a low life like you doesn't deserve to even speak his name" She ground out

Nagato slowly pushed away from the door and began to walk towards the chair Naruko was tied to. He remained quiet and looked straight into her eyes and stopped when he was within touching range. Suddenly he pulled back his right arm and struck Naruko with the back of his hand. A small cry slipped out of Naruko's mouth yet she held her tears back as she glared through her messy golden tresses.

"Now, now, we can't have you defying and disrespecting your future husband can we" he said kneeling down to see her at eye level.

Naruko kept silent as Nagato reached out and held her chin in a crushing hold and turned her to face him.

" I'm going to have fun breaking you" he said before harshly releasing Naruko's chin.

" I'll be back later to punish you properly, right now I have certain business to attend to" he said as he once again disappeared through the door.

Naruko slowly looked up to the ceiling before closing her eyes for a few moments.

'God, please protect my family and Sasuke and his family'

* * *

When Sasuke emerged from his bedchambers and into the dinning hall he found his entire family seated there with a strange yet familiar looking red head.

"Sasuke there you are, we've been waiting for you" said Fugaku

"What do you need me for father?" asked sasuke sitting at the table

" We want you to meet sir Kurama, a knight of the realms" said his father

"…Hn" he said

'He's that man that was dancing with the blonde during the autumn ball'

"Kurama was one of the body guards assigned to watch over Naruko, we want you to talk to him in hope of bringing back your memories" said Fugaku

" Hn, right let's go then" said Sasuke walking out of the dinning hall.

He began to walk farther away from the main portion of the castle into the more quiet parts. He would look back now and again to see Kurama following him quietly. They began to pass less and less people in the halls until they came upon an empty courtyard. As he walked near the benches under the trees he began to hear laughter. He turned around and noticed no one around him not even Kurama who was right behind him. The laughter began to get louder and louder. He turned around and saw the same blonde little girl pass by him.

'What the hell'

" You can't catch me Suke" she giggled before turning around and looking at sasuke

" Who-"

Before sasuke could finish his question the girl just smiled before turning and running while holding her light blue dress skirts.

A large hand appearing on his shoulder caused Sasuke to turn quickly to see Kurama staring at him with concern in his ruby eyes.

"Are you alright my lord?" he said

" Hn I'm fine" said sasuke brushing the others hand off him

'Who is that girl…could that be this Naruko they're looking for'

Once seated Sasuke wasted no time in asking the questions that he had about the subject.

" What does Naruko look like" he said

"If you remember the day of the ball, Naruko-sama was the young lady you danced with" said kurama

'So that's who that was'

"Did I ever know her as a child" he asked

" I'm not quite sure since I was only recently hired to be her body guard and have only known her for a few years but from what she has told me about you I gather that you did" he said

" I see" ' she must be the girl I keep seeing'

" My father mentioned this happened before, why is she being targeted again?" he asked

With a great sigh Kurama looked at the sky before looking down at his fisted hands.

" What I was told by Minato-sama was that Naruko-sama is targeted by one person only. This person's name is Nagato, he was once part of the kings court. He witnessed his parents murder and blamed it all on Minato-sama for not being able to protect those within his court. From that day on he became obsessed with gaining power. He tried to over throw Minato-sama but failed and was exiled." He said

"Why does he want Naruko though?"

"We don't know for sure but we think it's part of some scheme to become ruler of the Namikaze kingdom" 'and because she's your fiancé'

Silence once again engulfed both as they sat and gathered their thoughts.

* * *

In a remote place far from the Uchiha and Namikaze kingdom awaited a camp of armed men anxiously pacing back and forth. Within the encampment various men could be seen preparing for a big battle. They all stopped what they were doing and faced the entrance of the camp when their leader arrived by horseback.

"Nagato-sama, you've arrived at a good time" said one of the men walking up to Nagato

"I hope so Orochimaru, I've got good news for you my subjects" said Nagato walking to the center of his troops

"My men, today marks a new chapter in our battle. Today is the day we attack the Uchiha palace and end their reign" Shouted Nagato thrusting his sword in the air

Around him all of the armed men shouted in glee before kneeling down before Nagato.

"Rise My men and prepare for battle, we shall arrive at night and use the darkness to cloak us and give us the element of surprise" addressed Nagato

Leaving his men to gather what was necessary, Nagato walked up to his second in command and motioned him over to his tent. Once in the tent he turned to face the snake like man.

" Orochimaru once we enter the castle I want you to kill everyone you see" explained Nagato

"Even the Uchihas" hissed Orochimaru

"All of them just leave Fugaku and Minato to me" he said

"Minato?"

"I'm sure by now they have joined forces to find Naruko and the most likely place they are right now is within the Uchiha palace"

"Of course my lord"

As Nagato turned to prepare for his battle he failed to see the smirk blooming on Orochimaru's pale face as he exited the tent.

'Soon I'll be able to get my hands on a perfect body for my experiments'

* * *

**That's it for now, i'll see you guys next week hopefully and I hope you guys have a wonderful week :D. **


	5. Chapter 5

Greeting my wonderful readers, it is friday once more and I come with a new chapter. Now I also bring some bad news, next week I will not be able to post a new chapter like I always do because I will be going away to visit family. I will be gone for two weeks to a place with no internet( I know the horrors D:). Since I will be on a hiatus for a while I decided to wait to write the really exciting part of the story until I come back. I will come back with plenty of chapters and hopefully more stories. For now I want to wish you all a happy winter holiday and I look forward to the new year.

**Rating: T**

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Naruto or anything related to Naruto. If so Sasuke would have never ran off with the snake pedo and Itachi would still be alive. If you are curious to what the weapons I mention look like you can go to my profile and click on the links, they should all hopefully be working.

'text' means thinking

* * *

**Chapter 5: Blood Dawn**

As the sun went down over the land of Konoha, people everywhere stop and stared at the sky. For the first time in a few years the sky was completely bathed in crimson. The sun was big angry blotch of scorching orange as clouds of red covered the approaching night sky. A frenzy took over the town people and people began to scurry into the protection of their homes and some even board their homes. Others who were to captivated by the ominous warning, began to stare in silent horror as they all thought of one thing. The hour of the blood dawn had been thrust upon them and could only mean one thing. Blood would flow like the rivers in the heart of the city.

* * *

" I think we should call it a day" said Sasuke rubbing his temples

"yes, we don't want to stress you out" said Kurama standing from his position

"Hn…" grunted sasuke looking at the sky

' …why does this sky look so familiar'

"Help me, somebody help me"

Tearing his gaze form the bleeding sky Sasuke came face to face with a burning cottage surrounded by trees. Thick clouds of gray smoke covered the surrounding area making it hard to see the actual cottage. Angry flames devoured everything in its path making them burn brighter and hotter. The trees surrounding the cottage were lit and slowly breaking down under the flame's orange glow. Their eerie shadows extending like silent screams.

'Where am I'

"Suke! Suke!"

Snapping out of his trance at the sound of his name being screamed repeatedly, Sasuke dashed into the burning trees. He ran and dodged the falling tree parts that could no longer withstand the flames.

' what am I doing, run away you idiot'

"Naru I'm coming" he said as he reached the entrance of the cottage

' …This can't be… my past, can it?'

The entrance of the cottage door was boarded up with planks of wood that were slowly being engulfed by the fire. The smoke was more concentrated here making it difficult to see and breathe. Steadying him self, Sasuke kicked the door in hope of breaking it down. After a few kicks the door gave out and smoke spilled out in one big black cloud. Coughing at the cloud of smoke that swallowed him, Sasuke rushed into the burning cottage to get out of it. Once inside the cottage he could see that it was divided into two sections. The front section was what currently sustained most of the flames as the second part was slowly being lit.

"Naru" he screamed looking around

"Suke! Help me suke, please," came the desperate sobs from the back portion.

Running to the first door that was closed in the back portion he quickly kicked the door down until it busted open sending woodchips and sparks in the air. Once in the room he could see Naruko pressed against the furthest corner of the room.

'So she is Naruko'

"Thank god your all right," he said sighing in relief

"Suke your hurt" She exclaimed throwing her arms around him

"Shhh it's fine Naru, I'm ok" he said embracing her

He looked her over trying to see if she was truly fine. After deciding she was fine he looked up and froze. In the split second it took for the burning roof panel to fall he quickly pushed Naruko out of its way falling victim to it instead. He laid there motionless and barely conscious, he felt the pain radiating from his arm but couldn't care less.

' Why am I not worried'

"SUKE!

Hearing Naruko scream caused him so exhale in relief. He smiled as he slowly began to lose conscious. He could distantly hear the shouts of voices and Naruko's screaming for him. It all began to blur and he could barely recognize the feeling of the panel being lifted and the arms that pulled him out of it.

" Sasuke, Lord Sasuke" came the distorted voice of someone

Jerking back to reality Sasuke found himself on the floor on his hands and knees, gasping for breath.

' so that's what happened'

"Are you ok Lord sasuke, …did you remember something" asked the hovering Kurama

Getting up from his position on the floor and dusting the dirt from his pants sasuke faced Kurama "Hn, I saw our…accident".

For a moment Kurama face was emotionless before bowing his face, "please don't blame her, she torments herself over it everyday".

"How foolish of her then, I would never blame someone for something I did on my accord" he said

Looking up from the floor to face Sasuke Kurama gave him a smile full of gratitude and chose to ignore the comment made of his mistress.

" It's dark now we should go report to my family, I'm sure they're anxious to find out our progress" said Sasuke turning around and walking back the way they came from.

"Of course my lord"

* * *

Within the library of the palace were both the emperor and his wife along with that of the king and queen. They sat discussing their plans and information about the kidnapping of princess Naruko.

"Has Sasuke told you anything yet?" asked a tiered Kushina

"No he hasn't come back from his trip with Kurama" said Fugaku

"I'm sure that with sometime he will come through for us" said Minato clutching his wife's hand.

"You must be strong Kushina, we will find Naruko" said Mikoto

"I wish that coward would show his face so I could beat it in for him" growled Kushina

Before anyone could speak the door to the library opened revealing Sasuke and Kurama striding into the room.

Standing quickly from her seat Kushina faced both men, "Did you remember something."

Sasuke remained emotionless as he stared into the queen's hopeful gaze.

"… I remembered my accident" he said

"That means you remembered Naruko" said Minato looking at Sasuke

" I wouldn't say that" he said

"Why not sweetie" asked Mikoto

Sighing Sasuke walked to a chair near him and sank into it causing the rest of the occupants to take their own seats except Kurama who was standing near the large window on the south wall.

"what I mean is that she still feels like a stranger" he said

"But you remembered her right?" asked Fugaku

"Yes" he answered

"Well that's a start, we now have hope that this might work" said Minato

"Thank you for your work Sasuke, I'm sorry we're forcing this on you it must be painful to try and remember these things" said Kushina with a guilty look.

Before Sasuke got a chance to answer Kurama stepped away from the window catching the others attention.

"What's the matter Kurama?" asked Minato

"something's wrong" he said

"Wrong?" asked Fugaku

"Something bad is about to happen" he said

Not a moment after those words escaped Kurama's mouth something barreled into the castle's wall where the library was situated, causing it to shake. Everyone tried to steady them selves before Kurama ran to the window and peaked out of its drapes.

"What the hell was that" asked Sasuke as he steadied himself

More and more impacts could be heard echoing throughout the walls of the castle along with battle cries. Just as Kurama pulled away from the window the library's doors burst open and a knight came running in.

"Emperor, Empress were under attack! I was send by lord Itachi to ask you and the King and Queen to evacuate" he said

"Attack by who?" asked Mikoto

"Some man by the name of Nagato" he said

That mention of that name spoke out loud caused the most of the rooms occupants face's to grow dark. Kurama pulled out his sword from its sheath and it came to life as it seemed to blaze under the lights in the room.

" Minato-sama you and Kushina-sama evacuate, I will take care of this lowlife" growled Kurama

Everyone watched as Kurama exited the library eyes blazing with his equally crimson hair and sword. The smile he bore which showed his slightly elongated canines, was that of someone out for blood.

" I can't sit around and do nothing while everyone fights, come on Minato" said Kushina pulling two long wicked looking daggers from two hidden sheaths under her dress skirts.

" Right behind you" he said pulling out his sword

"Are you coming, Fugaku? Mikoto?" asked Kushina

Fugaku and Mikoto looked at each other before smiling and nodding. Quickly walking to a bookshelf near his desk, Fugaku pulled a book revealing a secret opening in the wall. The space held all kinds of weapons mostly swords. Grabbing his favorite sword before picking up two more he closed the compartment and handed Mikoto a sword before stopping in front of Sasuke and handing him a sword. Without hesitation Sasuke took his weapon and smirked. Soon they all walked out clutching their weapons and wearing a smirk on their faces as the immersed themselves into the war scene, leaving a path of blood and destruction as they went.

* * *

**Thank you guy so much for reading, please drop me a review and while you're at it I was thinking of posting a D Gray Man oneshot I created as a gift for you guys. If you are interested please let me know. The pairing is yullen and it's not very happy to be posting as a christmas present -_-. I will try to make a naruto fic to post before I leave but i'm not making any promises. **


	6. Chapter 6

****Greetings my dear readers I am back from my vacation and am here with a published chapter. I'm sorry about the wait but here it is like I promised the battle scene. I'm sorry if it's not too good since I have never written a fighting scene. I hope you like this chapter and hopefully the next chapter is on schedule if not i'm terribly sorry but life is getting to me right now. Thank you my newest followers I really appreciate you following my story, I was really happy when I got back to see I had new people reading my story. Well enough with the small talk lets get on with the story.

**Rating: T**

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Naruto or anything related to Naruto. If so Sasuke would have never ran off with the snake pedo and Itachi would still be alive.

'text' means thinking

* * *

**Chapter 6: The battle**

Screams and battle cries could be heard echoing through the Uchiha palace that evening as hundreds of armored men clashed swords. Crimson splotches of blood bloomed like roses on walls and floors through out the palace grounds. Soldiers from both sides were crumbling to the ground and painting the grounds with the crimson elixir that gave them life. It wasn't long until the Uchihas and Namikaze arrived and wasting no time at all they all split up and each took a side in defending the castle from the sudden attack. Sasuke swiftly made his way to his brother's side while cleanly slicing through the men that got in his way.

"Sasuke? I thought I sent someone to tell you to evacuate" grunted Itachi as he plunged his sword through a man's chest

" Hn, like I would run away like a coward" responded Sasuke covering his brothers back

" You always were foolish little brother" said Itachi shaking his head with a small smirk

"Hn"

Quickly ending his conversation with his brother, Sasuke began to put more effort into his battles. One by one the men he fought fell to the ground lifeless as he continued to clear the hall they were in. In between fights he looked around and saw his mother gracefully bring her opponents to their knees in one or two blows of her sword. His father wasn't far behind over powering four men at a time while avoiding any injury dealt to him. Turning to the south end of the courtyard he saw kurama wearing an almost crazed look as he brought his sword down on his opponent's quick and swiftly in an elegant arc. His blade an even darker shade of red than usual, from all of the blood that stained it. Looking around the rest of the courtyard he noticed that the numbers of their attackers was dwindling fast. Deciding that Itachi could handle himself he made his way to check the other areas of the palace that were under attack. He ran past the corridors and saw Kushina surrounded by dead bodies facing off with her last opponent. Her bright red hair flying around her making her look more menacing than she normally was. He continued to run down the corridor until he came across Minato talking to a man.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here, if it isn't the all mighty Minato Namikaze," said the man

" Nagato" Snarled Minato

Sasuke was taken aback at the behavior of the ever calm and happy king. He looked at the source of all of their problems for the first time.

"Fancy meeting you here" said Nagato casually looking around the room

"Quit your shit Nagato, tell me where my daughter is" growled Minato

"Wouldn't you like to know, but this isn't about your daughter Minato. It's about you and were going to settle this once in for all" growled Nagato

Nagato launched himself towards Minato sword held high and ready to strike. Minato quickly lifted his sword up to block Nagato's blow and quickly twisted his body to strike Nagato's back. Dropping quickly to the floor Nagato was able to dodge the attack and swipe his foot across the floor, sweeping Minato off his feet. Using his momentum to his advantage Minato was able to land in a handstand and deliver a strong kick sending Nagato across the room. Recovering quickly from the kick Nagato touched his face to find a thin ribbon of blood flowing from his mouth. He quickly threw his arm out and from his sleeve came small blades hurling towards Minato. Using a series of crouches, backflips and handstands Minato was able to dodge all of the blades that were left embedded into the walls.

"Not bad Minato" Smirked Nagato looking down on Minato

"Fight me like you mean it you asshole, or are you too much of a coward" growled Minato

Just as Nagato was about to answer, Sasuke felt a presence behind him and turned around quickly but not quick enough. The blade of a sword slashed down on his chest shredding through his though shirt and creating a deep angry wound from left shoulder to his right hip. Quickly looking up he saw a snake like man looking down on him with malicious yellow eyes. He quickly straightened out holding his blade steady in front of him.

"We finally meet Ssssssasuke" spoke the man

"Who the hell are you" grunted Sasuke ignoring the dampness of his chest

"You don't need to know that right now, what you do need to know is that your body will now belong to me" he said with a wicked look on his face as he raised his blade

"Che, like that will ever happen" he said before charging at the man

Steel met steel as the two performed their deadly dance. Each blow met with one of equal strength if not greater. Given the disadvantage of being wounded, Sasuke still held his ground with the snake like man. Swinging his sword in a perfect arc sasuke managed to slice deeply into the man's chest. Shock was written all over the snake man's face before vanishing with a quick narrowing of his eyes as he began fighting with renewed strength. Using more aggression the snake man soon was able to land a blow to Sasuke's skull with the blunt of his sword before deeply plunging his sword slightly above his right hip. Soon it became apparent that the skill between the two seemed to be evenly matched as they both danced around each other's blows. The battle seemed to drag on with no victor emerging anytime soon.

"This has taken long enough" hissed the snake man panting slightly

"Indeed" grunted Sasuke

With that said Sasuke pushed himself to his limits and began to move faster and strike with even more accuracy. Soon it was clear that the other man was being over powered. Trying to keep his defense up against the rain of attacks, the snake man lost focus on keeping his vital areas protected long enough for Sasuke to strike. With a quick blow he thrust his sword into the man's chest piercing a vital organ and rendering his opponent still with shock. Using this to his advantage, Sasuke pulled his sword out and quickly sliced the man's neck open. A fountain of crimson erupted staining Sasuke's face and upper body. With a sick splash, the man fell to the floor in a pool of his own blood making gurgling noises as he choked on his blood. The life slowly drained out of those glowing yellow eyes as he lay there before Sasuke's feet.

Taking a minute to calm himself down Sasuke backed against the wall and leaned heavily against it. He slowly began to feel the exhaustion creep over him along with a splitting ache where his opponents sword met his skull. He stood there closing his eyes trying to calm down before hearing an angry shout that belonged to Minato. Ignoring his body's protests against moving he quickly pushed off the wall and ran into the room near him. He found Minato alone in the middle of the room standing a bit hunched over. It wasn't long before the Uchihas and Kushina along with Kurama joined them in the room.

"Minato!" yelled Kushina rushing to her husband

Turning to face his wife Minato revealed his injury to his left side to the occupants of the room.

"Minato are you ok" asked Kushina delicately embracing her husband

"I'm fine it's not as bad as it looks" said Minato smiling lightly

"It looks bad with all that blood tainting you" answered Fugaku crossing his arms

"Fu, you know most of this blood isn't mine" replied Minato shrugging

"Who were you shouting to earlier?" asked Mikoto

"Nagato" growled Minato "I was fighting him but that bastard ran away after injuring me since I was gaining the upper hand"

"Sorry to interrupt but who killed Orochimaru out there?" asked Kurama

"Orochimaru? Figures he would be behind Nagato" spoke Itachi

While everyone continued to ask Minato on his encounter with Nagato and wonder about Orochimaru, Sasuke began to slightly sway at his spot. Itachi, who at that moment glanced to his unusually quiet brother, noticed how terrible he looked and caught his strange behavior.

"Sasuke" he called

Things weren't registering to Sasuke very well at that moment. His head was splitting in two from the pain and everything was swimming around him. He tried his best to stand straight but it soon became too much for him and he crumbled to the floor. He closed his eyes waiting for the floor to come and greet him but instead met someone's arms. Opening his eyes he saw the worried face of his bother whom was holding him and his mother and father along with the Namikaze group.

"Sasuke, what happened to you!" cried Mikoto

"Son were you the one who faced Orochimaru" asked a worried Fugaku

Sasuke stared at his father for a while as he tried to make sense of the muddled sound that he was hearing.

"Don't answer you lost a lot of blood, don't worry honey you're going to be ok" cried a distress Mikoto

"Itachi take Sasuke to Tsunade, she should be here attending the injured down in the great hall" answered Fugaku

Without waiting for further instruction Itachi clutched Sasuke to his chest and ran out of the room. He ran without looking back to see Kurama following him and continued to run while looking down at his weak brother in his arms.

"You fought well little brother, who knew you could take on one of the three sennin" whispered Itachi

"So that's who that was…" answered sasuke weakly

"Yes, and I couldn't be prouder of your skill" he said smiling down at sasuke

Sasuke looked up at his smiling brothers face and noticed black blotches dancing around the edges of his vision. The pain in his skull intensified with the lights in the hall causing him to close his eyes. All he saw was darkness until in the distance he saw something of a glimmer.

"Itachi, I see something bright" Mumbled sasuke with his eyes still closed

Looking alarmed Itachi glanced down to Sasuke once more to see his relaxed face. He looked up and noticed he was a few feet from the great hall where Tsunade should be able to help him.

" Don't talk anymore Sasuke, you've lost too much blood" he answered picking up his pace

"It feels safe…and inviting" whispered out Sasuke

Itachi burst into the great hall as Sasuke went limp in his arms with a peaceful look on his face.

"Tsunade! Tsunade I need your help" Yelled Itachi clutching at his brothers still body.

* * *

**I hope you guys liked this chapter I went over it like five times to add more details to it. A review would be greatly appreciated and I promise to try to stick to my updating schedule. If you want to know what inspired me while I wrote this it was the song Off with her head by Ghost Town. I recommend you check them out they're a great band :D.**


	7. Chapter 7

Welcome back!, I hope you had a good week and here's my newest chapter to make it a little better. I hope you enjoy it since it's my longest chapter yet :D.

**Rating: T**

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Naruto or anything related to Naruto. If so Sasuke would have never ran off with the snake pedo and Itachi would still be alive.

'text' means thinking

* * *

**Chapter 7: The aftermath **

"Tsunade! Tsunade I need your help" yelled Itachi clutching at his brothers still body.

In the center of the room two women were talking while looking at a clipboard. The first woman was a young blonde woman who wore the robes of a healer. She was of average height, slim and had very large breasts. The woman next to her had black short hair and was about the same height as the blonde woman. She wore normal clothes with a white coat over them. At the banging of the door both women looked up to see Itachi holding his brother in his arms. Quickly the blonde walked up to the entrance of the door while the black haired lady ran to prepare a bed.

"Itachi over here quickly" she said as she ushered the prince to the empty bed

Itachi did as he was told and moved aside to let Tsunade get to work. She took Sasuke's pulse and vital signs before removing the rest of Sasuke's torn shirt.

"Will he be ok" asked Itachi worried

"Shizune I need some bandages and disinfectant quickly" barked out Tsunade

"Patience Itachi, now what happened to him" asked Tsunade

"He was wounded in battle, he fought Orochimaru during the raid on the palace" answered Itachi

"Orochimaru?" asked Tsunade while reaching for the things Shizune brought her

"Yes we don't know exactly what happened in all of the chaos," he answered rubbing his temples

"Well he's been deeply wounded and has lost a lot of blood and for now he's unconscious," she answered while cleaning Sasuke's wounds

"So he'll heal fine right?" asked Itachi peering over Tsunade's shoulder

" Yes it will take some time but he'll be fine" she answered

Kurama who up until that moment had decided to keep quiet for Itachi's sake stepped up and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I think we should leave Tsunade-Sama to her work now" he said looking at Itachi

"Of course we need to get going and see to the repairs of the palace," said Itachi squeezing Kurama's hand before letting go.

Both men walked out of the great hall leaving Tsunade to tend to her patients. A few minutes after both men walked out she had closed and bandaged all of Sasuke's wounds and left him resting in his bed only disturbing him to change his bandages.

* * *

"Suke"

"Suke look at the pretty horses"

Flashes of colors and laughter could be heard echoing around. Blurry images of people were surfacing and slowly becoming sharp enough to show the Uchihas and Namikazes. Both families having fun and smiling at each other as they enjoyed each other's company. The golden smears of color that were reoccurring in every image and the source of the voices and laugher, turned out to be Naruko Namikaze.

"Sasuke this is Naruko Namikaze your new play mate," said Kushina pushing a shy Naruko forward.

"Suke I'm here where are you," yelled a pouting Naruko at the palace entrance.

"Sasuke you'll always be my friend right?" asked a shy Naruko looking up from her lap.

"Suke help me I'm scared" cried a desperate Naruko running from an angry dog.

"Look what I got you Suke," giggled Naruko holding a stuffed rabbit.

"Sasuke who are you gonna marry when you grow up" asked Naruko hiding behind her stuffed rabbit.

"Sasuke, son, Naruko has gone missing," said a sad looking Fugaku.

"Suke! Help me suke, please,"

"Sasuke I love you," said a young smiling Naruko.

* * *

Shizune was making her usual rounds around the great hall while taking note of how along the patients were in their healing. She wrote down each patient's progress on the charts hanging at the foot of their beds. She worked diligently and quietly to not bother the patients. As she turned towards her last section of beds she saw Sasuke Uchiha standing in front of his bed. A gasp escaped her lips as her clipboard dropped to the floor with a dull noise. This caused Sasuke to turn around and look straight at Shizune.

"Sasuke-sama what are you doing up." said Shizune as she scrambled to his side.

" Why am I in the great hall?" he asked as Shizune seated him.

"You were injured in battle and had to be treated." She responded while checking him over.

"Hn that's right, that snake bastard thought he could kill me." snorted Sasuke.

"Sasuke-sama how do you feel?" asked Shizune after reading his chart.

"Hn, I feel fine how long was I out?" asked Sasuke.

" I see, and four days sir." she answered while writing down something.

" I see." he said getting up and walking past Shizune.

"Sasuke-sama where are you going." exclaimed Shizune.

"I've wasted enough time here, I'm leaving," he said as he pushed the entrance doors open.

"But your injured" yelled Shizune.

Her pleas were either ignored or unheard by Sasuke as he strode out of the great hall. The doors slamming behind him cause Shizune to wince as some of the other patients groaned awake.

"Children these day's" she mumbled as she continued to do her work.

* * *

Sasuke strode out of the great hall looking the same as ever. He looked around noticing the changes in décor and structure, which were greatly different from the one of the night of the raid. He continued to walk forward while every once in a while nodding in greeting to the palace staff that was happy to see his return. He made his way towards what he presumed to still be his father's study and gently opened it's wooden doors. As the doors opened it revealed his Father and Mother along with king Minato. The creaking of the doors caused everyone to look towards him as he stood in front of the room.

"Sasuke!" gasped Mikoto running towards him.

"Son!" exclaimed a surprised Fugaku standing from his chair.

Sasuke heard his father but couldn't see him approaching from the embrace his mother had him in.

"Mother I can't breathe" he complained.

With a startled jump Mikoto pushed away from sasuke and took a step back to stand where Fugaku was. Fugaku held his wife's trembling had before looking at his youngest son.

"How are you feeling Sasuke?" he asked.

"I'm fine father," he answered looking at Fugaku straight in the eye.

"That's not what your wounds are saying," said Minato from where he stood originally.

Both Fugaku and Mikoto looked from their son to Minato and back to their son. It was then they caught the seeping pink color that was appearing on Sasuke's shirt.

"Sasuke your still hurt you shouldn't be walking around," said Mikoto.

"I said I'm fine Mother and I didn't come here to talk about my wounds," grunted Sasuke.

"Then what did you come here for?" asked Fugaku.

"I remembered now, I have fully gained my memories back," he said.

Minato was the first to react rushing towards sasuke, "Can you find her?" he asked.

Looking up at the Kings distressed blue orbs sasuke responded, "I will find her."

Minato smiled at sasuke for the first time since the kidnapping of his daughter and gave Sasuke a quick hug before releasing him. He rushed towards the entrance of the study room before Fugaku's voice stopped him.

"Where are you going Minato?"

"I have to tell Kushina that we can finally set out and find our daughter," he said.

"We can't" said Mikoto looking down at the floor.

Minato's smile fell of his face as he looked at Mikoto, "what?"

"I will not let Sasuke out on a expedition while still being hurt, I'm sorry Minato but you must understand" she said looking straight at Minato.

" Mother I said I was fine" voiced Sasuke.

"I'm sorry sasuke but your mother's right, we can't let you go out in your condition," said Fugaku.

Sasuke stared in disbelief at his parents before looking at King Minato hovering in the doorway. His gaze was one of understanding before looking at Sasuke with an apologetic look.

"Your parents are right Sasuke, you should rest up before we head out on any search" he said while turning to leave, "I'm still going to inform Kushina" he said before disappearing from the room.

"Mother, Father, I'll go and rest now" said Sasuke turning to leave.

He paused with his back turned to them as he felt them both put a hand on his shoulder. The comforting gesture was cut short as Sasuke continued to move towards the exit. He left the study with a look of determination that his parents had failed to see.

'I'm sorry Mother, Father'

He walked towards the opposite direction of his bedchambers until he reached a closed off room. He looked around and found no one in sight before pulling the door handle. Torches hanging from the walls cast shadows throughout the room obscuring the objects in the room. Picking up one of the torches from the entrance, Sasuke walked into the room illuminating the entire space. The light of the flame bounced of the glass cases that held all types of weapons from swords to daggers to even cross bows. Sasuke walked past the tall cases and stepped towards the trunks that were at the back of the room. With ease he opened the trunk to reveal more weapons but in a smaller size.

" I'm coming for you Naruko," he said with a smirk on his face.

* * *

Dull blue eyes stared unseeing at the floor as Naruko sat in silence. She sat unmoving on the small cot she was provided by Mizuki a few days after Nagato had left. His absence did little to sooth her nerves, she was so worried about her loved ones that she had continuously refused to eat anything. Each day she grew weaker and thinner that her once healthy figure now resembled that of a twig. The only thing that reminded her of home was her crimson gown that now kept falling of her thin shoulders. She refused to change out of it when Mizuki offered her a cleaner gown. Everyday she would stay in the same spot and clutch at her dress as if her life depended on it. She was often so lost in her mind that she wouldn't notice Mizuki coming into her room for the day.

"Naruko?" called Mizuki approaching Naruko.

Naruko moved her dead eyes towards the girl standing in front of her. She noticed the brush and hair bands in her hands before nodding slightly. She turned around and allowed Mizuki to sit on the cot next to her. With gentle strokes Mizuki ran the hairbrush along Naruko's long tresses. Her once gold halo had now turned into a dull wheat color from the lack of sunlight.

"Your hair is beautiful Naruko," said Mizuki trying to cheer up Naruko.

"…Is that so" she responded.

"I'll make is even prettier for you" she said braiding her hair.

Naruko didn't respond to Mizuki and the girl visibly deflated. She felt terrible for what was happening to her but could do nothing against it. She could only hope to cheer her up but that didn't seem to be working as each day she seemed more frail and hopeless. After braiding her long hair into one braid she tied it off with a red ribbon to match her gown before placing it over her shoulder. Just as she was about to speak the door of the room burst open and revealed a seething Nagato.

"Get Out" growled Nagato.

Mizuki scrambled to her feet as she ran past Nagato towards the door. She didn't turn back to see Naruko's dead eyes burn with hatred as she looked at Nagato.

Nagato ignored the slam of the door as he advanced towards Naruko.

" I told you you'd never win," said Naruko Smirking at Nagato.

"You think you're so smart don't you little bitch" he growled as he lashed out.

"You don't scare me Nagato" She spit out as she slowly reached behind her to clutch a knife handle.

"A coward like you will never accomplish anything" she said.

Nagato growled and made to lunge at her just at the same time Naruko flung her right arm out. The knife sailed through the air and embedded itself in Nagato's shoulder. The attack was sudden and painful enough to send Nagato stumbling back into the floor. As quickly as she attacked Naruko made a run for it and made it out of the room. Her heart was pounding furiously in her heart as she ran through a series of hallways. She stumbled and had trouble running from her weakness and lack of movement. She continued to run as fast as she could while occasionally looking back to check for Nagato. No sign of him could be found as she neared the door that was the entrance to the building that had kept her captive.

'I'm free, I'm finally free'

She was close enough to the door that she could feel the sunlight on her cold skin warming her entire being. Just as she passed the last vertical hallway and reached for the door, she was yanked back and tossed harshly to the concrete floor. Grimacing at her aching body she quickly looked up and horror flashed across her face. There in front of her blocking her exit to freedom was Nagato looking absolutely livid. The knife she had embedded into his shoulder was still there looking like a decoration. He slowly pulled the knife out of his shoulder not once looking away from Naruko's face as he did so.

"You stupid little girl, you're going to wish you were never born" he snarled as he approached Naruko and brought the knife down on her.

A scream echoed through the building before it went quiet and the sounds or something dragging along the floor could be quietly heard along with an evil cackle.

* * *

**Aren't I just the worst, and here you thought Sasuke was going to die and now this. I wonder what will happen next, don't you?**

**Review or Comment please :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Here is the new chapter you have been waiting for. I don't know how many people actually read these things at the beginning but since i'm running out of things to say i'll just end it here.

**Rating: T**

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Naruto or anything related to Naruto. If so Sasuke would have never ran off with the snake pedo and Itachi would still be alive. I also don't own the song Safe and Sound, that belongs to Taylor Swift. If you haven't heard it I suggest you check it out it's a really good song and it was my inspiration for this chapter.

'text' means thinking

* * *

**Chapter 8: Help**

Nagato strode down the hall of his hide away dragging an unconscious Naruko by her long golden tresses. He dragged her using more force than necessary to vent out some of the anger that was still boiling within him. He passed the room in which he originally kept Naruko and walked towards a different door further down the hall. The room he stepped in was filled with different objects made especially for torture. Handcuffs embedded to the material of the wall, a chair with thick leather straps attached to it, a steel table with a combination of straps and cuffs scattered over its surface. Near the entrance of the room stood a table with various objects glinting ominously with the dim light of the room.

Nagato walked towards the chair in the middle of the room and dumped Naruko on it. He strapped her body with the leather straps and used a pair of handcuffs from the table to attach her hand to the arm rests, the same was done with her ankles. After properly attaching Naruko, Nagato took a minute to admire his work before pulling out the same knife he used earlier. Looking at the wound he created on her right shoulder weeping red tears, he decided to give her a matching one and plunged it in her left shoulder. Naruko's dangling head flung back and her closed eyes snapped open and let out a tortured scream. Her face was turned up towards the ceiling while her wide eyes stared unfocused. Her golden hair fell out of its braid and framed her pale face, giving her the appearance of a sunflower searching for the sun. Nagato stared with a wicked grin as he watched Naruko try to regain her senses.

"Welcome to the land of the living my dear" he said.

At the sound of Nagato's voice Naruko tore her eyes away from the ceiling and faced them man she hated so much. As she looked at him she caught a glimpse of the knife in her shoulder and swallowed a whimper. She tried to glare him down while fighting the tears and burning pain she felt.

" Still trying to put up a brave face my love" said Nagato as he started to circle Naruko.

"Well that's not going to help one bit," he said stopping in front of Naruko to caress her face.

Naruko pulled back with disgust written all over her face. Nagato took a tight hold on her chin and harshly pulled her face to face him as he leaned forward putting a inch or two of distance between their faces.

" That little stunt you pulled back there was unforgivable" he whispered, "I'm going to have to teach you better".

" Go to hell" hissed Naruko venomously.

Standing up straight Nagato turned to walk away before quickly turning back and landing a blow on Naruko's un-expecting face. A sharp intake of breath was all Nagato heard as a response to his assault. Frowning at the lack of response he walked towards the table before picking up a whip with sharp objects attached to each of the pleaded pieces. Walking towards where Naruko sat he brought the whip down across her body multiple times. With every lash Naruko remained silent not once making a noise. Still lacking the reaction that he desired, Nagato increased the force of his lashes until he decided that it was time to move on and the torn flesh across the top of Naruko's body was a good start. He then walked over to the table once more before picking up a series of small daggers. Returning once more he set his task to embedding one dagger in both her hands and feet. Naruko's eyes shone bright and glossy with tears but refused to let out a scream. She bit her lip until it began to bleed as the last of the daggers took their place.

'Dear God help me'

Object after object was used on Naruko's body and with each item she kept her mouth sealed. She took everything Nagato had to offer without giving him the satisfaction of hearing her pain. She sat in her chair with dead looking eyes as she tried to un-attach herself from her body. It was an easier task to do as time passed on, as she could no longer feel the assaults on her body from the numbness and cold feeling that has steadily creped over her body. Soon Nagato ran out of objects to use and decided to give up on his torture and leave the room. He left with an aggravated noise as his departure. Naruko sat still with her face turned down looking at her feet unmoving even after Nagato departed. Her shoulders sagged and her rigid stance drooped after a few minutes. She gazed at her feet, which still held the daggers in them with a lost expression.

When the door creaked open once more she tensed all of her muscles without looking up. It wasn't until she heard a muffled sob that she allowed herself to glance up from beneath her eyelashes. There at the entrance of the room stood Mizuki with her hands covering her mouth. Her black orbs were wide and filled with tears and her face had gone pale as she stood watching. Not wanting to worry the girl more than she already was, Naruko move her face up to look at the girl straight forward. Mizuki ran towards Naruko and collapsed at her feet. Tears streamed down her face as she began to speak.

"I'll be gentle," she whispered

Naruko watched Mizuki as she began to clean up after Nagato and remove the sharp objects from her body. She would flinch every time she went to remove something fearing to hurt Naruko more than she already was. Once she had finished her task she untied Naruko and gently held her as they moved to a different room. She led her to the rest room to wash her up before bringing her to sit down on the cot in the room. She helped her change into a simple short-sleeved white dress that touched the floor. Mizuki then started to address Naruko's wounds and bandage them all as well as she could with the little materials she had. After finishing Mizuki gathered Naruko in her arms and gently hugged her.

"…I want to die," whispered Naruko clutching Mizuki close.

Pulling back from Naruko, Mizuki gasped, "Naruko don't ever say that."

For the first time since she was kidnapped, Naruko cried.

"I hate it here, I want to go home. I want to see my family and Sasuke I want to know they're all right" She rushed while sobbing.

Mizuki tightened her grip on Naruko before slowly rocking her to try to calm her down. She felt her own eyes welling up with tears as she looked down at what once was a strong woman reduced into a helpless littler girl. Without even thinking Mizuki opened her mouth and began to sing for Naruko's sake.

_I remember tears streaming down your face_

_When I said, "I'll never let you go"_

_When all those shadows almost killed your light_

_I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"_

_But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight_

_Just close your eyes_

_The sun is going down_

_You'll be all right_

_No one can hurt you now_

_Come morning light_

_ You and I'll be safe and sound_

_Don't you dare look out your window, darling,_

_Everything's on fire_

_The war outside our door keeps raging on_

_Hold on to this lullaby_

_Even when the music's gone_

_ Gone_

_Just close your eyes_

_The sun is going down_

_You'll be all right_

_No one can hurt you now_

_Come morning light_

_You and I'll be safe and sound_

_Just close your eyes_

_You'll be all right_

_Come morning light,_

_You and I'll be safe and sound_

* * *

Night settled as Sasuke emerged from the weapons room and walked to his chambers. Once in his room Sasuke quickly put together a small ouch of items that would be necessary for his journey. Most of the items were spare weapons that he could not hold on his person. Once done he strode to his wardrobe and picked up one of his black cloaks and clasped it in place before picking up the sword that he had stashed under his bed's mattress. Not wasting any time he sneaked out of his room and headed towards the stables. He hid in the shadows of the surrounding sheds and waited until the last of the stable boys had left for the day. Quietly he made his way to the last stable and opened the gate before whistling. Out of the shadows emerged a tall, dark, proud stallion, gracefully approaching his master.

Sasuke walked up to the horse and placed his sattle on and tied the pouch he was carrying to a spare hook on the seat. Once seated, Sasuke took the reigns and set his horse in motion swiftly riding out of the stables and into the woods that surrounded the palace. He kept to the forest as he rode off in a path that only he knew of. Soon enough the forest became denser as he headed towards the heart of the forest where not many ventured out.

'Wait for me Naruko'

The forest growth was thick and unforgiving as it tried to keep Sasuke out by scratching him or snagging his clothes. Sasuke paid this no attention and staid focus on his path. As he rode on he noticed gaps between the trees become wider and wider. Soon he was able to see where the forest ended and turned into a smaller clearing with a few shrubs and trees scattered around. Sasuke began to slow down as he reached the edge of the forest cover when he heard the muffled clapping of other horses. Pulling his sword out and preparing for battle, Sasuke turned his steed around and waited as the figures of two more riders emerged from the forest. He waited with anticipation as the riders emerged revealing two very familiar figures.

"Itachi, Kurama?" he said

"Foolish little brother what were you thinking going out in your state" scolded Itachi, as he neared Sasuke.

" How did you find me?" asked Sasuke taking a deep breath.

" Itachi-Sama and I were doing rounds when we saw you ride by" answered Kurama.

"Hn" said Sasuke with some relief

"That doesn't matter right now, what matters is what you're doing out here miles away from the palace at night" said Itachi.

" I'm going to rescue Naruko," said Sasuke

There was a moment of stunned silence before Kurama broke it.

" Naruko-Sama? You know where she is?" asked Kurama with a tinge of relief.

" Not exactly, but I feel like I know" grunted Sasuke

"Sasuke I'm relieved you're back to your old self, but you can't be out in your condition; especially after this kind of task" voiced Itachi.

"I'm fine" exclaimed Sasuke, "I've said this millions of times already. I can't possibly sit still while Naruko is held by Nagato, who could be doing God knows what to her" he replied angrily.

Kurama looked at Itachi and Sasuke and their unreadable faces. He nudged his horse closer towards Itachi before placing his hand on his shoulder.

"I'll go with Sasuke and protect him with my life, you won't lose your baby brother" Whispered Kurama as he held Itachi's gaze.

Itachi remained silent as he looked into Kurama's crimson eyes before glancing at his younger brothers face.

" Thank you for willing to risk your life for him Kurama, but I would never live in peace if something happened to you while trying to protect my foolish brother" whispered Itachi as he sent a grateful look towards Kurama.

"You win Sasuke, I will allow you to go with the exception that we follow you" stated Itachi as he approached his brother.

"Hn, fine by me" answered Sasuke before turning around to face the clearing.

"Where exactly are we going" Voiced Kurama

"Where going to stick to the forest edged on the side of this clearing, I have a feeling we'll find Naruko here since the last time she was in the heart of the forest and Nagato wouldn't be stupid enough to do the same" grunted out Sasuke.

"Well little brother lead the way," said Itachi as he followed Sasuke's path with Kurama behind him.

After riding a couple more hours Sasuke, Itachi and Kurama came across a deserted maze like building. The windows were all boarded up with planks of wood and two guards stood at the main gate on guarding duty. There were no other guards seen outside of the building as the trio dismounted their horses and approached the building. They shared a silent command with each other before Kurama approached the guards casually walking up to them.

"Who are you, and what do you want" addressed one of the guards pulling his sword out.

" I come in peace," said Kurama holding his hands up.

"I'm just a man who got lost and needs help finding my way back home," he said.

Kurama kept looking at the men trying to look the least bit intimidating. It wasn't long before they relaxed slightly and lowered their weapons. A split second was all it took for Sasuke and Itachi to appear from the shadows and snap each guards neck. Both of them fell to the ground lifeless like dolls not making a single sound. Stepping over the bodies the three of them silently made their way into the building.

Once inside, the building immediately spread out into branches of hallways each leading into darkness from the lack of light. Sasuke lead the group deeper into the building being careful to stay together and not make unnecessary movements. It wasn't until they were halfway through the maze like building that they heard a rushing sound. Kurama being the one on the end, whipped back with his blade raised, just in time to be met with another soldier giving out a battle cry. The clashing of their swords echoed through the building and it wasn't long until more armored men started to pour in. Itachi sprang into battle and fell in sync with Kurama helping him fend off the oncoming assailants. Sasuke who was about to join in the fight recoiled when he heard his brother's voice speak to him.

"Go Sasuke, find her before Nagato has the chance to escape with her again" he yelled.

Taking a quick look at his brother, Sasuke ran further into the building blindly. Picking hallways at random he was lead further towards the back of the building. He continued his path until he crashed with someone running in the opposite direction of him. Looking up he saw it was a girl with long white hair and black eyes. She looked up at him before cowering away from him.

"Have you seen a blonde haired girl?" asked Sasuke impatiently.

The girl stiffened at the description before quickly standing up with relief etched on her face.

"You're here for Naruko aren't you, quickly follow me," she said before quickly running down the hallway.

Sasuke chased after the girl and followed her until they rounded what looked to be the last hallway in the building. He kept running until he saw the girl in front of him stop and stiffen. He slowed his pace and walked slowly until he was slightly behind her and was able to see what caused her to suddenly stop.

"Mizuki where have you been" growled out Nagato

"I-I heard the commotion and ran to go see what was happening, I came here as soon as I saw what was happening," she said looking down.

From the where he was hiding Sasuke balled his hand in a fist and clenched his sword until his knuckles where pearly white. He grit his teeth as he heard Nagato's voice before taking a quick look in his direction. What he saw made his blood boil, there was Nagato Standing in the middle of the hallway holding Naruko by her thin arm as she dangled limply barely conscious. The bandages that littered her body entirely soaked with blood that stained her gown in some places, turning the white fabric pink. Sasuke pulled out a dagger he had tucked into his belt before swiftly sending it sailing strait into the center of Nagato's chest.

The sudden attack pushed Nagato back enough for him to let go of Naruko's arm and send her tumbling to the floor. Sasuke took this opportunity to come out form his hiding spot.

"Get her out of here now" barked out Sasuke, startling Mizuki into movement.

Mizuki was just able to quickly pick up Naruko by her arm and run away with her just as Nagato regained his senses. Nagato burst into action as he pulled out two long hand daggers from his belt and aimed straight for Sasuke. Sasuke blocked his head on attack with his blade and using pure force was able to repel Nagato backwards.

"So you finally found you're beloved, too bad she can't recognize you at the moment" said Nagato grinning.

"You're going to pay you bastard" Snarled Sasuke as his eyes became red with anger.

Launching himself in the blink of an eye, Sasuke landed a blow, which was blocked by Nagato's daggers. Twisting quickly Sasuke was able to pull out another of his daggers and sink it into Nagato's back before crouching to dodge the oncoming blow to his chest. Nagato taking advantage of Sasuke's crouch struck out with his leg sending Sasuke flying to the other side of the room. Sasuke wasted no time in recovering from the kick as he one again exploded into action with quick speed.

Nagato switched into offense as Sasuke sent him blow after blow with amazing speed. Each strike was as deadly as the last, besides the swipes of a sword Nagato had to also worry about daggers flying by and grazing him or stabbing him. Turning to a low crouch and roll Nagato was able to impale the tip of his dagger into Sasuke's calf muscle. The sudden jolt of pain caused Sasuke to jump back un-expectedly. Sasuke began to slightly wobble as he stood a few feet away from Nagato. His leg began to slightly twitch as a numbing felling began to spread throughout his body.

"Shocking isn't it" smirked Nagato whipping the blood from a wound on his face.

"The blade was poisoned and soon your body will be rendered paralyzed leaving you defenseless and weak" cackled Nagato.

Sasuke felt the numbness spreading rapidly from his aching leg. Soon he felt his whole body shuddering before he dropped his sword unable to hold its weight any longer. It wasn't long after his body came crashing down and Nagato began advancing towards him. Soon he stood only a foot away from his curled up body before he lowered himself to Sasuke's height.

"It's been fun Sasuke-kun but alas it's time to end this little game, any last words" he said raising his dagger above Sasuke's chest.

"Rot. In. Hell" hissed out sasuke before plunging his sword through Nagato's chest all the way to the hilt.

Nagato's eyes widened as he let out a choked gasp while dropping his weapons to the ground. His mouth began to fill with blood and he struggled to gasp for air. Sasuke pulled his sword back leaving him to stumble backwards and collapse on the floor quickly dying it red. It wasn't long until his sick gurgles and twitching body came still and the blood stopped flowing. Sasuke let out a sigh as his grip on his sword shuddered violently before dropping the weapon. He wearily lay on the floor as he tried to regain the movement of his body.

As he lay on the floor he could hear quick footsteps getting closer and closer. He kept his eyes closed as he mentally prepared whatever strength he had left should he have to use it. Soon the footsteps came to a sudden stop before he heard his brother's voice.

"Sasuke!" called out Itachi worriedly.

Sasuke opened his eyes and saw his brother's worried face change into one of relief.

"Hn, I'm fine Itachi" he called from the floor.

"Why are you on the floor Sasuke-sama?" asked Kurama as he stepped towards Sasuke.

"Nagato used some sort of paralyzing poison on me and I can't move," grumbled Sasuke.

" Come on Sasuke we need to find Naruko" said Itachi as he reached to help Sasuke up.

"She's safe, someone's with her" he spoke as he leaned on Itachi for support.

"Well let's bring her home then" answered Kurama as he led the way out of the building.


	9. Chapter 9

****Hello readers I am back with a new chapter to my lovely story. I want to apologize because I was stupid and didn't mention on the last chapter that this story is drawing to a close. I know, sad but all things must come to and end. Chapter 10 is going to be the last chapter of this story and I just want to apologize in advance for this filler sounding chapter. It was a pain to write but I had to be incorporated. The next chapter should be better, now without further delay here's the newest chapter.

**Rating: T**

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Naruto or anything related to Naruto. If so Sasuke would have never ran off with the snake pedo and Itachi would still be alive.

'text' means thinking

* * *

**Chapter 9: Reunion **

Outside of Nagato's hide away the moon shone bright from its high position in the sky. Its lit face casted a light glow that gently set over everything it came in contact with covering it like a blanket. A few feet away from the worn down building near the edge of the forest sat Mizuki and Naruko. They were both hidden within a wide hollowed out tree trunk with tree branches over them. Mizuki sat with Naruko in her arms holding her as she stared out into space. Her face was pale and she was still disorientated from the drug in her system.

They sat there for hours not moving an inch with nothing but the forest sounds to keep the silence at bay. After a while Mizuki broke the silence feeling it was safe enough to talk.

"Naruko, you're going to be ok" she whispered looking down at Naruko.

Naruko, who was still facing the branches and staring out into the open gaps left, reached up and held Mizuki's hand in a tight grip. Mizuki gave the girl's hand a light squeeze for comfort.

"They finally came to take you home, soon you'll be with those you love" she said comforting Naruko.

Silence reclaimed its hold over them as they sat waiting once more. Mizuki began to stare at Naruko's bandaged wounds and how soaked they were. As she got lost staring at the flowing crimson liquid she heard a noise. She cringed and held Naruko tighter as the noise began to appear more frequently. With a sudden jolt, Mizuki realized it might be those she was waiting for. She gently let go of Naruko and removed the tree branches that covered the entrance of their save haven. She quickly climbed out before turning around to look at Naruko.

"Naruko, I'll be right back. Stay here and please don't make a sound," she said.

Quickly placing the branches back to cover Naruko from view, Mizuki headed towards the edge of the forest. She walked carefully staying behind the cover of the trees making sure no one else saw her. As she walked closer to the clearing she began to hear voices. Slowly peeking from behind a tree she found who she was looking for. Pealing her self from the tree she hastily made her way towards the trio approaching in her direction.

Sasuke and the others heard the noise of running footsteps and stopped in their tracks. Kurama stepped in front of Itachi ready to protect him and his younger brother. At the sight of the Mizuki hastily running towards them, Kurama slightly lowered his guard.

" Thank goodness your safe, I was beginning to worry you would never come" she said to them with slight gasps.

"Sasuke-Sama, is this the person were looking for" asked Kurama.

"Hn, I met her before I fought Nagato. Where is she?" asked Sasuke looking at Mizuki from Itachi's hold.

"Follow me it's not far," she said turning around heading back towards the forest.

The trio of men followed Mizuki towards the forest path from where she appeared to them. They followed her until they reached a big tree covered with multiple branches. They watched silently as she removed the branches to reveal a curled up Naruko with her eyes closed. At seeing her, Sasuke pushed away from Itachi's hold and stumbled his way towards the tree. He collapsed next to Naruko and gathered her in his arms. He buried his face in her pale hair and breathed in her scent before a smile graced his lips.

'Finally, I found you'

Kurama walked from behind Itachi towards Mizuki before bowing until his knee touched the ground.

"Thank you for taking care of Naruko-sama. I along with my master are in debt to you, how could we ever thank you for keeping her safe" he said looking at Mizuki.

"Oh no, there's no need for that. I did what any good person would do," she said stammering.

" I still like I let her down in not being able to protect her from Nagato" she said looking down sadly.

" She's here and that's all that matters" spoke Sasuke entering the conversation.

"Sasuke's right, you still managed to save Naruko" spoke Itachi.

" Well since were all here and in one peace, I say we get some sleep and head back first thing in the morning" said Kurama while glancing at the sky.

"Good idea, Sasuke needs to rest to get that poison out of his system," said Itachi looking at his brother.

"I'll go and get some branches to make some bedding for you all" spoke Mizuki walking further into the forest.

"We'll go with you" Spoke Kurama walking behind her with Itachi at his heels.

After the three of them left a peaceful silence set into the forest. The once tense atmosphere with the feeling of danger lurking around the corner completely evaporated. Sasuke shifted to get more comfortable within the tree trunk before looking at Naruko. He gently brushed her hair with his fingers before running his hand down her face. He studied her and with a lurch to his heart, he noticed just how much she had gone through in the past couple of months she was away from them. He noticed the multiple bleeding wounds that decorated her now frail and thin body. Her eyes had black circle under them that spoke of the nights she had lacking sleep. Closing his eyes from the painful sight, Sasuke let out a sigh before burying his face in her hair once more and kissing her golden halo.

' No one is going to ever separate us ever again, I promise on my life'

* * *

Morning came fast the as the sun began to shine and grace the world with its warm rays of light. It wasn't long before people began to awake from their slumber and begin their morning routine. The Uchiha palace was no exception; servants were running around doing their job each with a content look on their face. One maid with long black hair wearing the clothes of a personal maid, walked towards the wing of the castle that held the rooms of both princes. She walked until she came to a stop in front of Sasuke's room door.

"Sasuke-Sama, breakfast is ready," she said knocking gently.

She stood at the door and waited for her master's reply but heard none. The usual grunt of acknowledgement wasn't heard.

"Sasuke-Sama? Are you ok" she spoke again knocking once more.

Once again hearing silence she twisted the doorknob to find it unlocked. She hesitated slightly before turning the knob and opening the door. What graced her shocked her and made her nervous. The room was bare and the bed looked like no one had slept on it for the night. She rushed to the restroom only to find it empty; Sasuke was nowhere to be found. Taking a quick breath to calm her nerves she walked out of the room closing the door before walking further down the hall towards Itachi's room.

"Itachi-Sama, Sasuke-Sama isn't in his room. Do you know where he might be?" she asked while gently knocking.

Once again she was met with silence, which caused her to panic and try the door again. Once the door opened she was met with the same scene as earlier. Itachi was nowhere to be found in his room. The maid began to hyperventilate a little as she dropped to the floor.

"They're not here, Oh God what if someone took them! How am I going to tell Mikoto-Sama! She's going to kill me," she said hysterically rocking slightly.

She continued to rock herself for a while before snapping out of her mental break down and rushing out of the room. She ran down hall and into the dinning room where the Uchiha's along with the Namikaze's were gathering to have breakfast. She burst into the room not caring at the commotion she was causing and ignoring weird looks the occupants of the room were giving her.

"Mikoto-Sama, Fugaku-Sama!" she spoke stopping in front of the royal couple.

"What is it dear child" answered Mikoto

" Sasuke-Sama and Itachi-Sama are missing," she blurted quickly.

"What!" shouted Mikoto.

"I went to get them for breakfast and couldn't find any of them in their rooms" she said stepping back from the empress.

"Are you sure they're not somewhere else on the castle grounds?" asked a stern Fugaku.

"Yes sir" she said.

"Come to think of it, we haven't seen Kurama at all either," said Minato rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"You don't think they left to go find Naruko do you," gasped Kushina

"It's very possible that they did, I was hoping Sasuke wouldn't resort to this" said Fugaku.

"We have to go find them, Sasuke is in no condition to be out there. What if he get's in a fight and get's even more injured." Spoke Mikoto.

"Of course dear," said Fugaku, "You may leave now," he told the maid.

She quickly gave a bow to both royals before leaving at a much more calmer pace.

"We have to assemble a small group of men to go find them," said Fugaku looking at his wife and friends.

" I want to go with them" spoke Minato looking at Fugaku.

" Are you sure of that Minato" spoke Fugaku.

"I want to go and find my daughter, I also want to be there in case we come across that scum bag Nagato" spoke Minato in a deep voice laced with anger.

"Minato should go if he wants to dear" spoke Mikoto placing her hand over her husbands.

"It's settled then, you shall accompany my men," said Fugaku holding his wife's hand.

The four royals tried to have a normal breakfast but seemed to fail at it. No matter what they did they found themselves unattached to the conversations and rushing to finish their meal. After the rushed meal, both couples walked out into the main hall of the palace. There they stood as Minato walked to the room he and his wife were staying in. They waited for him to come out before continuing to the entrance of the castle. They stepped outside and saw the group of men ready waiting for their commands. Minato was preparing to say goodbye when the guards at the gate of the palace announced someone's appearance.

The four royals looked up to see three figures in the distance on horseback approaching fast. It wasn't until they came closer that they could identify the first rider as being Itachi. Soon the other riders behind him caught up with him and entered the palace grounds. The royals ran up to where the riders were dismounting dismissing the small crowd of men that had assembled.

"Itachi, Sasuke" cried Mikoto hugging her oldest son.

"Are you ok, you're not hurt are you?" asked Mikoto looking over Itachi.

"I'm fine mother" spoke Itachi.

"I was so-"

"Naruko!" gasped Kushina cutting off Mikoto.

At Kushina's gasp everyone turned to face Sasuke who was carrying a still unconscious Naruko in his arms. Kushina and Minato rushed to Sasuke and took their daughter out of his arms. Kushina began to shake as tears spilled down her face as she hugged her daughter.

"She's…not" trailed of Minato

" No, She's been drugged and has lost a lot of blood, she should be fine now that she's home." Spoke Mizuki from Kurama's side.

All eyes turned to Mizuki before quickly focusing on Naruko.

"Kushina, Minato we should take Naruko to a spare room, Itachi go call for Tsunade and tell her it's an emergency" Spoke Fugaku.

"Yes father," he said quickly before disappearing.

Fugaku quickly lead Minato and Kushina to a spare room for Naruko to be place in while everyone else followed. Once she was adjusted everyone stepped out and left the reunited family to spend some time alone. It wasn't long before Tsunade and her assistant Shizune appeared and made her way into the room. Minato and Kushina were forced to step away from their daughter's side to let Tsunade work. As they stepped out of the room Mikoto ushered them to the nearby living room for them all to take a seat. It took a few minutes before Fugaku broke the silence.

"By the way, who may you be" he asked looking at Mizuki.

Mizuki looked at Kurama who gave her a slight nob before answering.

"My name is Mizuki, I was in charge of Naruko," she said.

"She also helped me get Naruko somewhere safe," said Sasuke leaning back on his chair.

Mikoto looking at her utterly exhausted sons ushered them into near by rooms to rest from their long journeys.

"Please wake me up as soon as she wake's up" spoke Sasuke to Kushina getting a nod in return.

" I'll also be taking my leave," said Kurama following both of the princes into the hall of empty rooms.

All eyes returned to Mizuki making her nervous and uncomfortable. Kushina suddenly stood up and walked over to Mizuki. She bend down and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you for taking care of my daughter, you don't know how much it means to me" she spoke before letting go of Mizuki and returning to her husband's side.

"It was all I could do," she said looking at the happy parents.

"We still appreciate your kindness" spoke Minato

The opening door put an end to the conversation between them and they all scrambled to see what Tsunade had to say.

"How is she, is she doing to be ok" asked a worried Kushina

" I gave her something to flush the remainder of the drug in her system and treated her wounds. Some of them were really deep and will take time to close but she should be fine. None of her wounds will leave permanent damage." Spoke Tsunade.

"Thank goodness" sighed Minato.

"I'll be back to treat her wounds every so often, you may take her home after she wakes up and I assess her once more." Spoke Tsunade.

"Thank you Tsunade-Sama, you have once again helped us greatly" spoke Mikoto.

Tsunade nodded at her praise before walking away with her assistant. With the news of being able to go home for the first time in a long time, The Namikaze's left to prepare their things while the Uchiha's left to finish some other business that has been put off since the kidnapping of Naruko. Mizuki took residence in one of the spare rooms in the hall after the insistence of Mikoto and let the exhaustion wash over her as she fell on the bed and fell to sleep.

* * *

**Once again sorry for the filler and for not telling you sooner that the end comes next week. It will be a sad moment but thank you to those who stuck with me until the end.**

**Please review and thank you for your support, it is very valued.**


	10. Chapter 10

Hello my lovely readers it has finally come, the end of this story. It's sad to know that this is goodbye and I want to tell you how much I appreciate your support with this being my first story I ever posted. I never imagined that I would get as much followers and favorites as I have had and I just want to thank you soo much. I worked so hard on this last chapter, I honestly didn't think I would finish and make my friday deadline since this week got really hectic for me in real life. I hope you enjoy this last chapter and thank you for sticking with me until the end.

**Rating: T**

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Naruto or anything related to Naruto. If so Sasuke would have never ran off with the snake pedo and Itachi would still be alive.

'text' means thinking

I also wanted to mention the ages right now as to not cause any confusion, also if you want to see some of the pictures for some of the things I described in the story you can go to my profile and check out the pictures.

Sasuke: 18

Naruko:17

* * *

**Chapter 10: The End**

"…ruko"

"Naruko, wake up"

'Who's there?'

I looked around and saw nothing but darkness; it was as if my eyes were closed off to the world yet I had them open. I kept hearing a gentle voice that sounded painfully familiar but could not recognize it in the current daze that I felt. As I continued to hear the voice call out my name I noticed my surrounding become lighter. It wasn't long before light began to seep through the darkness igniting small patches with color. Soon the darkness that shrouded everything it came across was shattered by the voice of that person who was still calling out to me. Everything slowly came into focus revealing a brightly lit grassy meadow. The sky was a perfect blue without a cloud in sight. There was a breeze that gently caressed the grass and bright flowers causing them to lightly dance. I sat on a hill that overlooked the meadow under the shade of a vibrant green tree.

'It's so pretty here'

'I must have fainted'

The meadow stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction. There wasn't a single building to disturb the beauty of the nature that grew there. The peaceful silence that existed ceased when rustling could be heard. The noise continued until it abruptly stopped and a dull thud and a clang of metal could be heard. I turned my head to my left and almost screamed. I gripped my mouth tightly to hold in my horrified scream, there next to me was my worst nightmare. Sasuke's onyx orbs bore into my own crystal ones as his lips set stretched into a smile.

"You're finally awake Naruko" he said softly.

He sat slightly hunched over holding himself up with his hands in front of him. His clothes were torn in various places showing his pale skin marred with blood. Wounds big and small covered his body bleeding out without stopping. He was soon covered in blood from head to toe. His hair was matted down in some places and sticking to his face with blood in others.

"S-Sasuke, what happened to you?" I asked holding back a sob.

"You can't protect me forever" he spoke as his endless eyes stared at me.

"Oh God No, this is all my fault" I said as I broke down crying.

I hunched myself into a ball, burying my face in my lap. I wrapped my arms around my knees and cried my heart out. I muffled my noise with the material of my dress not wanting to cause more of a burden to Sasuke. I knew this was a dream but it felt too real to ignore completely. It was everything I never wanted to face in my entire life.

"I never asked for your protection you know" spoke Sasuke.

My sobbing turned into a few stray tears that would not stop. I looked up at Sasuke while whipping my face clear.

"You didn't have to, I would do anything to keep you away from harm Sasuke. You're the person I care about most in this world" I spoke looking at him.

His face went from a small smile to a frown. "You say that yet you ignored me and left alone in the dark," he said.

"I did it to protect you! All I ever do is cause you trouble; I thought you would be happier if I wasn't in the picture. I was trying to give us a new chance at a happy life." I said looking down.

" By trying to protect me you brought down even more danger for me and yourself" he spoke as he fisted the grass near him.

" I know and I'm sorry! But you don't know what it was like that first time you were injured. You could have died Sasuke and what for? All because a deranged bastard kidnapped me, I kept telling myself it was my fault you were injured. If you weren't involved with me you would have never gotten hurt trying to save me. " I said fighting back tears.

" I can handle my self fine," he said with a tight voice.

"I still can't place you in danger Sasuke, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did. You have to understand me and learn to leave me alone, you'll be better of without me." I said looking sadly at all of his wounds.

"Is that what you truly want" he spoke quietly.

"Yes, it's what I want." I lied looking away from him.

"Fine, have it your way" he said standing.

I looked up at him as he picked up his sword and strapped it on. He walked down the hill at a slow pace not looking back once. I sat where I was; I knew it was for the best and that this was all a dream meant to steel my resolve. I watched him as he got a bit further from where I sat memorizing his image for when I woke up in the hell that Nagato had me in. I held my breath as he stopped suddenly about halfway from where I was seated and the bottom of the hill. He turned around and faced me, his once onyx eyes now a violent crimson.

"By the way" he said looking straight at me.

"I remembered everything and I'm going after Nagato" He spoke as he raised his sword and quickly plunged it trough his chest causing rivers of scarlet to flow from his wound.

"SASUKE!" I screamed horrified as I sat frozen, my legs not wanting to take me to him.

I watched helpless as his body crumbled to the floor, sword still in place before slowly turning into dust before it reached the ground. The wind began to pick up and scatter the dust particles through out the meadow. The only thing left of Sasuke was his sword that lay in the spot where his body once was, staining it with his blood.

* * *

Naruko's eyes opened violently as she gasped for breath, she sat up quickly only to hunch over in pain. Mizuki who had been standing near the window rushed to her side to stop Naruko from moving any more. As soon as Mizuki reached her Naruko latched her hands on her wrists holding them in a vice like grip.

"Naruko are you alright" spoke Mizuki gently prying her hands from her wrists.

" Sasuke he, he and blood and Nagato and he stabbed him self and, and.." trailed off Naruko as her repressed shudders grew and she began to cry.

"Naruko it's alright, it was all a dream" said Mizuki while comforting Naruko.

" That's right, Sasuke's safe and I'm still with Nagato. He hasn't come for him yet." She whispered trying to relax.

Mizuki looked at Naruko with shock and paused for a moment before speaking.

"Naruko, you don't recognized where were at?" asked Mizuki.

Naruko looked around the nicely decorated room she was placed and noticed it was too clean and furnished to be one of Nagato's rooms. Her gaze then traveled to her arms and she noticed her wounds were properly bandaged and taken care of. She glanced up at Mizuki with a questioning glance before she spoke.

"We're in the Uchiha Palace Naruko, you're safe now"

A look of relief washed over Naruko's face before one of terror briefly replaced it. Naruko opened her mouth to respond to Mizuki but before she got a chance to speak the door opened. There in the door way stood the Namikaze family along with Kurama. Naruko stared at her family who she hadn't seen in months and broke down in tears.

"Naruko, sweetheart" gasped Kushina as she rushed to embrace her daughter.

"Mommy" she said as she embraced her mother.

" We were so worried about you Naru" spoke Minato embracing both his wife and daughter.

"I thought I would never see you again, I was so worried about what Nagato would do to you" she spoke while shuddering.

" It's ok baby, were here now and nothing's going to separate us anymore" spoke Kushina.

"Don't worry about Nagato anymore, he won't be able to hurt you anymore" Spoke Minato looking at his daughter.

"Did- did you kill him" spoke Naruko in a small voice.

"No Sasuke beat me to it" he spoke.

At the mention of Sasuke Naruko froze in her mother's arms. Kushina think her daughter was worried about Sasuke quickly continued after her husband's claim.

"Sasuke's fine honey and speaking of which, I have to go inform him you're up. Come on Minato let's go," she said standing and pulling her husband with her out the door.

"I'll be going too, I wanted to speak with queen Mikoto some more" spoke Mizuki and quickly exited the room.

Naruko was left alone in the room with Kurama who she hadn't noticed in her shocked state. She sat in her bed rigid until Kurama place his hand on her shoulder. Breaking away from her terror, Naruko looked up at Kurama before taking his hand in hers.

"Kurama, you're always here when I need you" she spoke while looking at their hands.

"But I wasn't there when you were being held captive" he spoke while looking at her bent head.

"It wasn't you're fault, it wasn't anyone's fault" she spoke while looking at him with a caring look.

"I still failed you and that's the truth but Sasuke who saved you deserves your avoidance to end" he said looking at Naruko with a pointed look.

" I want to be able to but I can't, I only put him in danger and this proves my point. He's better of without me and his memories of me" she spoke slipping her hand out of Kurama's and sitting with her knees up.

"You mean you don't know?" said Kurama with a bewildered look.

"Know what?" she said muffled from her place on her knees.

Kurama stayed silent as he heard steps outside of the room getting closer. He looked at Naruko giving her a gentle smile and walked towards the door.

"Kurama don't leave me!" she said urgently.

"I'm sorry Naruko-Sama but this has gone long enough. You need to end this for both your sakes" he said as the door to the room opened and revealed Sasuke.

"Hello Sasuke-Sama, I was just leaving" Spoke Kurama

"Hn, hello Kurama, my brother was looking for you he said something about skinning a fox for missing their training session." Spoke Sasuke walking into the room.

" I guess I better go find him" spoke Kurama with a sheepish look before stepping out of the room.

Sasuke stood a few feet from Naruko's bed and watched her as she looked at her hands. He stood there for a few seconds waiting for Naruko to say anything but all she did was stare at her hands.

"How are you feeling?" he said at last.

"Why did you go save me, I told you to stay away from me" she spoke with a flat voice.

Sasuke was taken aback with what Naruko said, he didn't expect her to still try to avoid him like she did before his memories came back to him.

"Hn, and do what leave you to die at Nagato's hands" He sneered.

"I didn't need your protection, all you did was place yourself in danger for a complete stranger" She spoke while glaring at Sasuke.

"You could have died Naruko! Does that mean anything to you at all, I was worried about you and rode out in the middle of the night while still recovering to get you back" He spoke with a growl.

"What did you say?" she said eyes widening.

"I remembered everything a few weeks ago while out with Kurama. It wasn't until the battle with Nagato's forces that I fully remembered you. I had to sneak out of the palace to go find you because everyone was more worried about my condition than finding you after I remembered you" he spoke.

" You fought Nagato while injured, it was precisely this danger I was trying to keep you away from Sasuke" she yelled. " Don't you see that all I ever do is bring you harm, you almost died once and I don't want to repeat that ever again."

"Don't you see that by running away from me all you do is put yourself along with the rest of us in more trouble. If you weren't so distant in the first place Nagato wouldn't have kidnapped you so easily, we could have been around you to protect you. How do you think your parents felt when you went missing how do you think I felt, you were gone for so long and when I finally remember you it's only to realize your gone once more" yelled Sasuke with a look of anger turning his onyx eyes slightly red.

Both Sasuke and Naruko were silent taking in what each other said. Naruko looked from Sasuke's angry eyes down to her hands once more and hid her face behind her golden hair. This however did not hide the tears that were making themselves down her face and onto the bed sheets. She couldn't stand to look at Sasuke being so angry because of her. Soon her shoulders began to shake slightly but no sound escaped her lips. Sasuke took a deep breath before walking over to Naruko's bead and sat on the edge of the bed. He gathered Naruko in his arms and rest his head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry about yelling," he whispered.

"You had every right," she said while rubbing her tears away.

"I didn't mean to, it just angers me that you can't see how much I love you and how it kills me inside every time you push me away" he spoke.

"It's not like I want to stay away from you," she said quietly.

"Then don't, no matter what danger comes your way I will gladly face it if it means I can continue to see you enjoy yourself each day" he whispered.

" I've acted so stupid," said Naruko

"I have an idea how you can make it up to me" spoke Sasuke.

"What's that?" said Naruko looking up at Sasuke.

" You'll see," said Sasuke with a smirk.

"I didn't miss this side of you," grumbled Naruko while pouting.

Sasuke just chuckled at her behavior before resting his head back on her shoulder.

* * *

"I'm glad to see you all got my message" spoke Sasuke entering his father's study. There sitting in a few chairs were his parents and Minato and Kushina sitting quietly.

"Why is it that's you've called for us son?" asked Fugaku looking up at Sasuke.

" I wanted to tell you something that requires everyone here to know" Spoke Sasuke.

"What is it Sasuke?" asked Kushina

"I've known for a while about your arrangement" spoke Sasuke with a frown.

"Who told you this Sasuke?" asked Mikoto.

" No one, I found out by myself." He said

"Sasuke that was a long time ago and no one expects you two to complete it," said Minato.

"Hn, although I don't like the fact that you did this behind our backs, I wanted to tell you I plan to fulfill it" he said

Gasps went around the room before Mikoto stood up and hugged her son. Everyone else sat with pleasantly shocked looks on each of their faces.

"When?" asked Mikoto pulling from her son.

"Tonight, I'm going to need your help with some preparations," said Sasuke.

"We'll take care of everything Sasuke" spoke a smiling Kushina

"Thank you" Spoke Sasuke

"Well let's get a move on" said Mikoto as she took her husband by the arm and pulled him out the room.

"Right" said Kushina pulling Minato with her as she followed Mikoto out of the room.

Once the rest of the room's occupants left the room Sasuke walked out and headed out towards the stables. He readied his horse before setting to the nearest town; he strode into the village and headed towards the center of the village. He dismounted his horse and tied it to a near by post before walking into the shop. The shop was a moderate size that housed many precious gems and stones behind cases. He gave slight nods as the people bowed for him as he passed them. He continued walked to the back until he came to a counter with a man looking through boxes. His ash blonde hair fell in his face obscuring anyone in front of him from view. Sasuke cleared his throat slightly to get the man's attention.

"Prince Sasuke, it's great to see you," he said looking up.

"I've come for what I've ordered" Said Sasuke.

"Of course, one moment please" he spoke before standing and heading towards a door located behind him.

As soon as he disappeared he came back holding a blue velvet box with gold trimming.

"Here you go Prince Sasuke, it's just as you ordered" said the man holding out the box.

Sasuke took the box from the man's hands and opened it, he gazed at its contents before a closing it quickly.

"Thank you" said Sasuke looking back up at the blonde while handing him a sack of money.

"It was my pleasure" smiled the blonde haired man taking the money.

Sasuke slipped the box into the pocket of his pants before striding out of the store. He walked up to his horse and untied him before getting back on it and riding once more. He rode as quickly as possible eager to get back to the palace and arrived a few hours before sunset. He quickly dismounted letting the palace staff take his horse back to the stables as he walked inside the palace. Once inside he walked towards his room but was stopped by his mother.

"Everything is in place for dinner Sasuke" she said

"Thank you mother" he said quickly as he left to his room.

Sasuke quickly disappeared into his room to get ready for dinner narrowly missing Naruko being ushered to Kushina's room. Kushina sat her daughter in front of her vanity table and began to search for various things. Mizuki when to the wardrobe and picked out a dark forest green gown made of silk. The bodice of the dress was the same green shade covered with a golden pattern. Hanging with the dress were two long arm pieces that had the same golden pattern on the portion that was held by the arm. The sleeves extended out and fanned out in the end creating a tail effect.

"Mommy what's the occasion?" asked Naruko as Kushina fixed her hair into curls.

"Can't we just celebrate our baby being back with us and being a family once more" Spoke Kushina as she gathered hair from the sides of Naruko's head and twisted them together creating a ring running around her head before clipping it in place.

"Oh, ok," said Naruko as she stood up from her mother's vanity.

"Come on Naruko" said Mizuki leading Naruko into the restroom.

Mizuki helped Naruko change into her dress before sliding the arm pieces over her arms. She inspected Naruko before taking some of her golden locks and placing them in front of her chest. Giving a smile she ushered Naruko out into the room.

"Oh you look absolutely gorgeous," gushed Kushina.

"Thank you" said Naruko

"Well let's get going shall we," said Kushina ushering her daughter out of the room.

The three women walked towards the dinning room where they found the Uchiha's and Minato and Kurama sitting at the table. The dinning room has been decorated with multiple flowers varying in shades of red, orange and yellow. Kushina and Mizuki left Naruko's side just as Sasuke approached Naruko from behind. He tapped her shoulder and she turned and smiled at him.

"You look lovely," he said

Naruko looked at Sasuke and took in his appearance from his neat black pants, tie and coat and cobalt shirt.

"You look handsome yourself, " said Naruko

"Well now that we're all here I have something for you" said Sasuke

"What is it?" asked Naruko looking at Sasuke Confused.

"Naruko" Sasuke began pulling the blue box from his pocket.

"No matter what happens nothing will be able to separate me from your side because I will always love you" he said getting down on one knee.

Naruko took in a sharp breath as she stood looking down at Sasuke.

"So why not make it official? Will you marry me Naruko?" asked Sasuke opening the blue box in his hand.

Naruko gasped as she gazed into at the box's contents, there inside was a beautiful diamond ring. The ring was a normal silver band that held a diamond within the petals of a blooming flower. The ring was accented with small diamonds along the band and the petals of the flower. Naruko covered her face with her hands as she looked at the ring.

"S-Sasuke, I, are you sure?" she said with a shaky voice.

"Naruko, I love you more than anything in this world and nothing will ever change that," Said Sasuke looking up at Naruko with an honest expression hinted with worry.

"I…Yes, Yes" Said Naruko as tears of joy ran down her face.

Sasuke smiled as he slipped the ring on Naruko's delicate finger. He took her hand and kissed it lightly before standing and embracing her tightly.

The quiet occupants of the room burst into cheers of joy as the flocked to the happy couple. Hugs and congratulations were given to the couple as the chef and maids poured into the dinning room to serve the food prepared for the occasion. Excited chatter could be heard echoing throughout the castle walls all evening.

* * *

**Sasuke: 19**

**Naruko:18**

~** One year later~**

The Uchiha palace was decorated like a palace straight out of a fairytale. White flower arrangements decorated the palace grounds and halls. Great green arches with white roses stood making a path leading into the gardens that were in full bloom. There were white orchards on both sides of the arches separating them from the rows of chairs. The chairs were covered in white fabric with a golden bow tied around the back in a bow. Leading into the gardens under the arches was a white rug that extended into the center of the gardens where an arch with both white roses and orchards stood. Towards the left of the middle arch were a couple of chairs that were occupied by a string courted and a harp player that stood ready to play at any minute.

Royals upon royals began to arrive at the Uchiha palace in their carriages. Each making their way into the gardens to take a seat in one of the many chairs found there. Many of the guests were buzzing with excitement as they looked around at the beautifully decorated gardens. Many of who were excited to be invited back to the Uchiha palace that since the disappearance of Naruko had not held a single event involving other royals. Sasuke Made his way down the arches to stand in the middle of the garden where the priest was standing waiting for the ceremony to get started. He stood under the arch looking around to find his family in the front row along with Kushina giving him encouraging looks. He waited patiently until the last of the guests arrived and took their place. It wasn't long before the Quartet began to softly play their music announcing the entrance of the bride.

The flower girl began to walk down the Isle sprinkling orange rose petals down the isle. The petals looked like little suns against the white canvas of the rug. Behind her came the ring barer holding a white pillow with a golden trimming and resting on top of the pillow were a pair of golden rings. Sasuke Looked at the entrance of the arches and his breath was stolen at what he saw. Naruko entered from the arm of her father looking radiant as ever, Her golden tresses were done in an elegant bun with a few pieces framing her face. Her strapless gown framed her upper body perfectly and spilled outward from her waste. There was an embroidery pattern running from her waist to the hem and the bodice of the dress. Soon Naruko stood in front of him with Minato handing her arm over to him.

"Take care of her Sasuke," He said smiling

"I will," he said taking Naruko's hands into his.

Naruko smiled at him brightly as they turned to face the priest.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this company, to join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony" spoke the priest.

"Into this holy estate these two persons present come now to be joined. If any man can show just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace."

Silence rang throughout the gardens as they waited for the priest to continue his speech.

"Sasuke, wilt thou have this Woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?"

"I do," he said smiling softly as he slipped the gold ring on Naruko's finger.

"Naruko Wilt thou have this Man to thy wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love him, comfort him, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?"

"I do" spoke Naruko as she slipped her gold ring on Sasuke's finger.

"With this Ring I thee wed: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. You may kiss the bride" spoke the priest closing his bible.

Sasuke took Naruko into his arms gently as he pressed his lips to hers gently while closing his eyes. Naruko's eyes fluttered closed as she held Sasuke in her arms. They shared a sweet kiss filled with the love they had for each other before parting at the eruption of cheers. The happy couple turned around and smiled at the crowd of guests as the lead the way into the indoor reception in the ballroom.

The ballroom was similarly decorated as the gardens but they held the addition of bursts of orange roses in the centerpieces of the tables. On one side of the room were all the tables fort he guests along with the food catered by the palace chef. On the other side of the room was the dance floor with the same string quartet and harp player from before, facing the dance floor. Sasuke lead Naruko into the dance floor for their first dance as the quartet began to play a soft classical piece.

"How does it feel to be Mrs. Uchiha?" asked Sasuke with a smirk on his face as they twirled on the dance floor.

"I don't know it hasn't really sunk in yet," said Naruko with a smile

"Hn, is that so" he said, a twist a turn.

"I'm too happy to think about anything else, all I ever wanted has finally come true," she said looking into Sasuke's eyes.

"As long as you're happy, I'm happy" said Sasuke leaning in for another kiss.

"I am," she said smiling while leaning to meet Sasuke halfway.

* * *

**Sasuke:27**

**Naruko:26**

**~ Nine years later~**

Laughter could be heard echoing all around the gardens as multiple footsteps could be heard running around. Naruko was sitting down on the ground with her eyes covered leaning against a tree. She sat under the shade of the tree with skirt of her pale blue dress tucked underneath her.

"Eight, nine, ten, here I come," She said as she uncovered her face and stood up.

She began to look around the gardens behind trees and around bushes but could not find what she was looking for. In her haste to find what she was looking for she failed to see Sasuke arriving from the entrance of the gardens. He stood at the entrance as he watched Naruko searching the area. He smiled slightly at her before hearing a noise coming from behind a bush near him. He walked over and lowered himself to the ground behind the source of the noise.

"What are you doing?" he asked

The two occupants hiding behind the bush turned around with big smiles on their faces as they caught sight of Sasuke.

"Daddy!" whispered the children

"We're playing hide and seek with mommy," said the little boy with blonde hair and black eyes.

"It's mommy's turn to seek, want to play with us daddy?" asked the little girl with black hair and blue eyes.

"Hn, sure" said Sasuke looking at his children, "But…. You should know I'm on Mommy's side," he whispered.

Sasuke suddenly scooped up both children in his arms and walked from around the bush holding down the squirming kids.

"Look who I found" announce Sasuke once he was close enough to Naruko

Naruko turned from looking behind another bush to see Sasuke holding their two children.

" Yuuzuki, Yoshiko I found you, I win" said Naruko smiling at her struggling children.

"That's not fair, daddy helped you" pouted Yuuzuki puffing up his chubby pale cheeks.

"That's cheating mommy," said Yoshiko with a slight puff to her tan cheeks.

"It's not cheating, your father and I will always be on the same team" said Naruko smiling at their children.

"That's right," said Sasuke putting the kids down and walking over to hug Naruko, "Mommy and daddy will always be the best team" he said

"Nuh- uh I bet you can't catch us" said Yuuzuki as he stuck his tongue out before taking his sisters hand and running off. Yoshiko smiling as she ran with her younger brother to hide from her parents.

"Hn, you have some exhausting children," said Sasuke with a smile as he nuzzled Naruko's neck.

"My children? Their yours too you know," said Naruko with a smile as she stepped away from Sasuke.

"Hn, of course they are, who else would they have gotten their intelligence and good looks from" smirked Sasuke.

Naruko laughed turned around to face sasuke and held her hand out for him to take.

"More like stubbornness" she said as Sasuke clasped his hand with hers. Sasuke chuckled as he and Naruko walked out of the gardens and into the palace to look for their rambunctious five year olds.

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading my story and I do hope you enjoyed it. I hope you send one last review with your comments I felt like I disappointed so many people with my previous chapter since I got no feedback from it. I'm just a pessimist that way, anyway I hope to see you again soon with my next story when ever that may be.**

**Review please :)**


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